Evening star., 1936-06-21
BRITISH WATCH TREND
OFU. S. FOREIGN POLICY
Needing Help in Far East, London Scans
Party Platforms for Hint of
Our Future Course.

down to the YangtSe River ana might
possibly grant official recognition Of
Manchukuo as an independent state.
BY implication. the British demand
ed a hands off" policy on the part
of Japan in the southern Pacific.
The Toxic foreign Office was pleased
with the suggested recognition of
Manchukuo. 1t would be an impor-
tant japanese victory.
But the military do not see the sit
uation through the same spectacles.
They are no longer interested in dip
lomatic victories. After carefully ana
lying the British suggestions, they
turned them down. Britain. in fact.
the military said, offered nothing and
wanted everything. 1t is no longer q
secret that the Japanese expansion
ist ambitions are not limited to the
control of Northern China, but TO the
whole of the Asiatic mainland. The
japanese expanSionists are at present
more interested in the Southern Pa
cific, and look with a greedy eye to-
ward Hongkong and the Dutch East
Indies. They consider these posses
sions of the white race as ripe plums
ready to fall in Japan's lap as soon
as the European storm begins to
shake the tree.
London Aware of Tendencies.
London is more aware of the ten
dencies of the Japanese imperialistic
policies than any other country. Its
remarkable intelligence service fol-
lows every move, every gesture of the
japanese. And the reports OF these
able men show clearly that Japan Is
headed toward final showdown with
the Western powers which still "en-
croach" on the freedom and inde-
pendence of the Asiatics.
Great Britain alone cannot check
mate Japan's rising power. And the
British cannot foresee any help from
the European nations which hereto
fore had been the backbone of West
ern civilization.
Strife-ridden France is interested
only in the maintenance of her in
terestS on the European continent.
1t is true that the French have a
vast colony on the Asiatic mainland
| Indo-China. But that colony is not
Immediately menaced by Japanese ex-
pansion, and if it were, the Socialist,
anti -imperialist government of Leon
Blum would not sacrifice the life of
single worker to save the fruits of
Frances imperialistic policies of SIS
years ago. Leon Blum's colonial Sec
retary, NJ Moutet, is one of those
militant Socialists who, in the past,
publicly denounced Frances imperial
ISM demanding the liberation Of the
subjected nations from the yoke OF
the French capitalists. Under the cir
cumstances, 1t would be difficult to
conceive that France would be willing
| to cooperate with Great Britain to
arrest Japan's expansionist aims.
Italy and Germany have very little
at stake in the Far East. Mussolini
is concentrating on building his Afri-
can Empire while Hitler is absorbed
in Central and Eastern Europe. Both
men have their hands full and are
unlikely to join the British in any
political or military combination
against Japan. Holland, as much
menaced as Great Britain in her CO.
lonial empire, is a small country,
which is hopefully looking toward
London and Washington for the main
tenance of her Asiatic possessions
Java and Sumatra. Russia, menaced
in Europe by the Reich, is satisfied
with maintaining defensive attitude
in the Far East.
Trail Leads to U. s.
BY a process of elimination, there
fore, Britain's diplomats have come
to the conclusion that the only nation
capable of and interested in saving
the British Empire in Asia Is the
United States.
London realizes that it will not be
easy to obtain the support of this
country, where the isolationist idea il
stronger today than at any other time
during the last IS years. a
American commercial interests ir
China are negligible. They represent
barely $500, 100000. The prospects OF
China eventually becoming an impor-
tant outlet for Americas industry anc
agriculture are remote. And even II w
were to take for granted that in year,
to come the purchasing power Of, the
480, ,000, 900 Chinese could be consid.
erably increased, the gains from such
trade would not even pay the inter.
est on the billions which war with
Japan would cost this country.
Japan's INSCRIPTIONS competition ir
foreign markets throughout the worle