Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02

Continued From First Page0
scented by the few miles of salt waite
between Dover and Calais, can be quit
as enectlve as thousands OF miles O
open ocean.
But, in order to make this marrow
belt of protective water between her
sell and the continent effective fol
ma ntalnlng insularity and the power
Wnlcn comes from detachment, IL II
necessary that Britain exercise unols'
puteo maritime control therein. Hoi'
land, Denmark, France and Germany
nave each, in turn. been forcibly taught
tnat Britain intends to exerc sc JUS
that kind of control.
Sea Control Gives Security.
The North Sea and the English
Snannel are the salt water rampartS Of
5rltaln and ones which. for her secur-
ity, she must and is determined to keeT
1or herself at all costs. From the point
Oh view of those continental nations
bordering on these waters, this is un-
fortunate and perhaps unjust, but ma
lure has so decreed and the British
navy has been able to sustain that
decree.
When we consider the empire we OBJ
serve that there is a sea axis along
which and at the extremities of which
the greater portion of its interests lie
This axis, beginning with the British
Isles, runs through the Mediterranean
TO Suez, thence to India and Singa-
pore, ending in the antipodes.
Precisely speaking, the Occidental
terminus of the axis lies in Canada
For practical purposes, however. the
transatlantic segment may be disre-
garded, since it has no effective mean
ing. because of the position of the
united States vis-a-viS Canada.
The axis is f1anked by many foreign
countries and it narrows to a bottle
neck at the Channel. Gibraltar, Malta,
Suez. Alden and Singapore.
Control Of Axis Vital.
The control of this axis is as i'm
portant to the security Of the empire
as the control of the North Sea and
Channel is to the security of the British
Isles. II Britain is capable of con-
trolling this axis she can bind together
the major portion and the most exposed
elements of her empire; the Mediter-
ranean becomes to her mare nostrum
she can isolate the continent of Europe
and the essentially military powers
thereof; she nullifies the extensive
>
she can prevent or render futile Rus
sian egress from the Dardanelles: she
can protect Egypt and the priced oil
fields of Iraq and Persia; she encircleS
India with a protective ring; she enters
into the Pacific, not by an open sea, but
through a narrow strait, which she
dominates, and from Singapore she
interpoSeS herself between Japan and
the South Pacific dominions.
To insure the integrity of this geo.
world girdle. Britain has es-
tablished along it chain of naval bases
and cable and other communication
systems which are the admiration of
the maritime world. The links of this
chain include Gibraltar, Malta, Suez,
Alden, Colombo, Rangoon, Singapore and
thence north to Hongkong or south to
Sydney and Auckland.
Longest Gap Protected.
The greatest length Of any link, lying
between the Atlantic to the Pacific, is
400 miles, between Alden and Colombo.
And this is the least exposed portion of
the chain, for between Suez and Sin
gapore it Is well under the control of
as it is flanked by territory
either British or susceptible to British
influence
The weak section Of the chain lies
Gibraltar and Suez, in the mar
row Mediterranean, where it Is flanked
oy eight foreign countries. This geo.
graphical axis of the empire Is the great
tact Of British imperial naval strategy.