Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-12-18
Allied Troops Occupy
Portuguese Timor,
Strategic Area
Step Token to Safeguard
Territory Against jap
Aggression, Dutch Soy

! by the AsSDCldttQ fIeee
LONDON, Dec. l8.-The Neither
lands government announced today
that Allied troops had occupied the
Portuguese part Of the Island OF
Timor, between Java and Australia,
strategic station on . Japanese air
line
But Timor's importance for Jap
aneSe submarine warfare was en-
phasized in the Dutch announce
ment, which said:
I'm view Of japanese submarine
activities OF Portuguese Timor it
became an unavoidable necessity to
take steps to safeguard this territory
against Japanese aggression and to
forestall its being used as base
from which attacks could be made
on Allied territory and communica-
tons"
| Accordingly, a force Of Allied
| troops have been landed in Portu-
guese Timor. The Portuguese gov
eminent having reafiirmed q desire
to preserve neutrality, local author
tiles in Portuguese Timor have OBJ
| jected to the action being taken.
Sovereignty Remains Intact.
Portuguese sovereignty remains
| intact and it has been made clear to
the Portuguese government that the
troops will be withdrawn as soon as
the threat from the enemy is re-
moved since their presence is purely
a measure of defense on the part OF
Allied nations at war with Japan.
A Foreign Office source said he
understood there was no resistance
to the Allied landing
In unofficial but informed quarters
it was predicted that the Timor &C.
cupation would lead to early roper
cussions which might determine the
final war status of Spain and Por-
tugal, possibly even Vichy.
Hope TO Keep Spain Neutral.
1t was asserted that Britain had
never relinauished hope Of keeping
Spain neutral despite the pro-Axis
affiliations Of Generalissimo Fran
cisco Franco. Concerning Portugal,
however, there have been repeated
admissions in the British press that
the traditional British-Portuguese
| friendship has been somewhat
frayed by effective German propa-
ganda.
Some British sources expressed
| the hope that afiliation Of Latin
American countries with the United
States would tend to encourage
Spain and Portugal TO resist Ger
| man threats.
Timor, lying at the eastern end
Of the Indies Archipelago, is divided
between Dutch and Portuguese
sovereignty. British-American rep
| reservations were made shortly be-
fore the start of war in the Pacific
when Portugal permitted the jap
anese to establish q station for an
airline from the island Of Palau in
the Japanese mandated Carolines.
The Allied occupation. apparently
WIS Cel leu out ny q COiiiDAlcu 0ueSh
and Australian force.
Recalling the Portuguese grant Of
the aerial concession in October. a
Foreign ONCE commentator said,
there was not the slightest justifica-
ton on commercial lines for estab-
lishment of such an airline"
Reports Of Activity Nearby.
The objective Of such an air serv-
ice could only be strategic" it was
said.
Portuguese Timor now has come
within the danger zone and there
we're reports of Japanese air and
naval activity nearby" the COM
| mentator continued.
Japan has shown a complete and
utter disregard for the neutrality
of any country she felt herself strong
enough to coerce and nothing Is
more likely than that one fine day
she would descend on Portuguese
Timor."
The Foreign Office source added
that ish-Portguese relations were
something that will have to be gone
into"