Evening star., 1938-02-04
Singapore.


Events this week at Singapore, the
British Nays mighty new base at the
tip OF the Malay Peninsula, are not only
OF deepest current import, because of
turmoil in the Far East, but presage a
situation destined to be of lasting
political and strategic influence through
out the vast reaches of the Pacific. The
practice war games which the British
neet is carrying out at its new Gibraltar
lose nothing in significance from the
fact that the three United States cruisers,
which recently visited Australian waters
are guests of honor at the Singapore
festivities.
Certain powers not remote from the
scene OF that determination are, of
course, not illogical in discerning in it
tresh evidence OF the community of in
terest which binds the two English
shooting" nations and navies, with re-
spect to events now rampant in the
Orient Singapore figured in this weeks
foreign affairs debate in the Senate and
IN Admiral Leahy's fortnight testimony
before the House Naval Affairs Com
mlttee. Occasion was taken in both
places to deny that our cruisers presence
IN British waters of the South Pacific
denotes any kind of a Far Eastern
secret understanding" between Wash
ington and London. That understand
ing as Secretary Hull has recently
pointed out more than once, is confined
to the circumstance that the United
states and Great Britain are pursuing
parallel objectives" In the crisis pro-
voked by Japanese aggression against
China, but that American independence
OF action is restricted in no wise what
soever. Nor is it either a secret, or on
any score reprehensible, that the two
countries are engaged in regular diplo-
matte exchanges designed to promote
common purposes in pursuance of
parallel" policy.
Singapore's establishment as an i'm
pregnable outpost of empire represents
British outlay of close to 100000 900.
1t has been under way for more than
fifteen years. Projected before the first
Labor government took Office in 1924,
the Macdonald cabinet, soon after at
tanning power, stopped work on the base,
both as an economy measure and as a
peace gesture. When a National gov
ernment, under Stanley Baldwin's domi-
nation, took the helm, building opera
tlons at Singapore were resumed, and
the current activities there celebrate
their completion. Unofficial accounts,
for the facts are naturally state secrets,
tell Of 15-inch and 18-inch guns mounted
IN batteries that flank the approach to
lahore Strait and narrate that con-
tinguous regions bristle with heavy,
long-range artillery capable of standing
OF the most powerful ordnance carried
by the largest battleships. Air defense
equipment is equally formidable. There
are extensive facilities for storage of
naval oil fuel and Iron ration" food
stuffs against siege emergency.
With Japanese threats against nearby
Hong Kong, Singapore's "unveiling" oc-
ours at a particularly timely moment.
Its steel, concrete, dry docks and guns
are pretty convincing evidence of John
Bulls grim determination to guard not
only his lifeline to India, but all the
interests OF the empire on which, he is
determined, the sun shall never set.
Australia and the Dutch, with their
priceless possessions in the East Indies,
have an interest second only to that of
Britain herself in the things that Singa-
pore stands for.