Evening star., 1941-04-01
Mexico Grants
u. ). Use Of
Her Airfie|ds
Reciprocal Pact
Will Provide Short
Route to Panama
BY LLOYD LEHRBAS.
Associated Press Staff Writer.

The United States and Mexico to-
day signed a convention providing
for reciprocal use of air fields which
will permit American military planes
to speed across Mexico to the PAN
anna Canal in the shortest possible
time.
The convention was signed at
1915 pm. by Undersecretary of
State Welles and Francisco Castillo
Najera, the Mexican Ambassador.
in the presence of Mexican and
American military experts who
formed the committee to draft plans
for mutual defense measures for de-
Tense of the Western Hemisphere.
The convention will now be sent
to the Senate for ratification and
to the Mexican Congress for appro-
pirate action.
The agreement, qualified authori-
ties stated, would greatly strengthen
the aerial defenSes of the Panama
Canal by making it possible for the
United States to shift air force REIN
forcements rapidly southwark from
this side of the Rio Grande if dan
ger threatened the Canal Zone.
This new defense compact, Off
cials said, will become operative once
it has been ratified by Mexico's
Congress.
Puts teeth" in Treaty.
Under its terms, Army and Navy
f,la would he 1I 70 R,,
length of Mexico, utilizing Mexican
air fields en- route for refueling and
repairs, and thus would be able to
reach Panama in the shortest pos
sible time.
The air fields understanding, ne
gotiated by Mr.. Welles and the Mex
lean Ambassador, was considered of
major importance since it puts
teeth" in the recently signed United
States-Mexican general mutual de-
fense pact.
The terms of the convention, it
was learned, provide that:
The United States may utilize the
Mexican route by giving the Mex
ican government due notice of the
flight and the route to be taken.
American military planes may
stop over at any of the Mexican
fields for "a hours for refueling or
repairs.
The Mexican government will pro-
vide any protection necessary against
enemy attacks at the airfields in
event of any emergency.
Long-range bombers may also be
ferried in short hops over Mexico
rather than by the longer and more
hazardous routes over water, via
Guantanamo, the American naval
base in Cuba, or by the new base to
be constructed on the Island of
Jamaica under the destroyers-for-
bases trade with Great Britain.
Mexican planes may utilize United
States airfieldS and bases under the
same conditions and guarantees.
Since successful bombing attack
on the Panama Canal would block
the big ditch" and stop or seriously
delay warship movements between
the Atlantic and Pacific, strengthen
ing of Panama's defenses has been
major concern for American mill
tary authorities.
The Mexican American agreement,
IN the opinion of military experts,
has the effect of adding several
squadrons of fighter planes to Canal
defenses, for it means that aircraft
from the continental United States
can be thrown into the breach in a
fraction of the time it would take
to get them into the action area
by plane carriers.
Agree on Airfield.
Since pursuit and interceptor
planes, needed to fight off bombing
attacks, have small fuel capacity
and limited flying range it is neces-
sary for the United States to main
tain strong fighting squadrons at
fields close-by the Canal to insure
its immediate defense.
The general defense pact between
the United States and Mexico
announced on March 5-made no
specific arrangement for defense
undertakings, merely stating that
American and Mexican experts
would study and discuss plans re-
lating to the assistance which the
two countries would render each
other in the event of an aggression
against either"
The agreement on air field use,
the first understanding which spe-
cifically implements the general
pact, was expected to be followed
by others as the experts reach
definite conclusions concerning ad-
ditional desirable defense prepara-
fi0re