The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-16
SINGAPORE LIES
 IN GREAT DANGER
tcontinuCd from Page D

thrust was developing along the highway south through Kelantan from Kota Bharu, strategic forth' ern airdrome seized by the Japanese In the Initial stages of the campaign,
 "A British military spokesman iil London spoke frankly of the inereas" Ing danger to Singapore, Iie admit ted that British forces are outnuffls bered by the Japanese expedition ary force and cautioned against op.. timlsm concerning the defense of Malaya, He said British defense plans had been thrown aSkew by the heavy Angio-Americaa naval losses which cost the defenders naval superiority in Malayan waters and by Japanese occupation Of Thai. iand).
 To the north the ard.fightIng inc perial garrison at Hong Kong was strongly entrenched on the inner de- fenSe lines of the island nletrops oils, The Japanese were shelAne Hong Kong from tho Kowloon shore, hut oil reports indicated that the British forces there are prepared TOT last-ditch fight.
 (Tokyo reports claimed that Honk Kong was under fierce attack by land artillery and by continuous waves of bombing planes, The Japa- neSe also claimed they have landed in British Borneo. A British spokes- man in London had no confiFmation of this claim.
 Danger To Singapore
 London, Dec. l6-(UP)-A British military commentator said today that Japanese attacks in Malaya presented e definite danger to Singapore.
 For the first time since Pacific hoSitlities began, Q military spokes" man said e major Japanese offen. | giye by land was developing against the great British fortress in the Far East.
 "There is definitely a danger" he said, adding that any Japanese Ad- vance southWard in Malaya repre-. gented 6 menace to Singapore.
 On the basis Of published facts t appeared probable that British forces in Malaga were outnunbered by Japanese and will be pushed back farther, he said, warning against optimism.
 When the British prepared their defenses in Maiaya they assumed they would have naval superiority in adjacent waters with the United States fleet covering their Hanks The blows which the British and American ravieS suffered at the outset of war were said to have ups set British calculations. Thailand's immediate complete submission to Japan and the Japanese occupa ton further threw British plans out ot gear. These factors, he said, eTia- bied the Japanese to develop large scale offensive in Malaya.
 The commentator said there was no confirmation of reports that the Japanese had landed in British Borneo nor was there information here that Thai soldiers were fight ing against the British. Further, he said, there is no truth in the re- ports that British troops are in ac- ton across tho border in northern Thailand."
 He said British residents and the garrison had evacuated Victoria point In southern Burma.
 There has been very heavy fight ing in Malaya and owing to the ex- tremely difficult nature of the coun- try 1t is impossible for all British troop formations to keep in touch, he said. "The supply of news te London is not what 1t otherwise might be-"
 Japanese I'm BOrneo Tokyo, Dec. 16-(UP)-(JapanesS Ofilcial Brbadcasts Recorded by United press)-Japanese imperia headquarters asserted today that 1t. troops had been landed in British Borneo.
 A headquarters communique sait the landing was effected this morn. ing despite the handicap of stiff wind.
 (Borneo Hes In a vitally important | position at the center of the East Indies. It is within striking dis. tance of the southwestern Philip. pines group through the Sulu arcfi. pslago, only 50 miles away at ths nerest point, and of Malaya and the main Netherlands IndieI islands.
 (The great island is made up oi Dutch Borneo, the British protec- torate of Sarawak and British North Borneo.
 ((There had been reports Of un. successful Japanese landing at. kempts. The Jdpanese comsnuniQut specified merely that a landing hnC been made ln Brissh BoEneol