Evening star., 1942-01-11

II every cloud has silver lining, that
of the adverse military situation in the
Far East may be found in the unified
command secured there as one result of
the Churchill Roosevelt conversations.
This achievement alone would have JUS
titled the risk and effort undertaken by
the Prime Minister of Great Britain in
making his extended visit to Washing
ton
The laison accomplished between the
American, British, Chinese and Dutch
commands is clearly an indispensable
preliminary to more successful conduct
OF the war in Asia. And it is noteworthy
that the elevation of Gen. Sir Archibald
Wavell to the position of supreme COM
mander" in the Southwest Pacific has
been accepted without demur by officers
of other nationalities who will serve un-
der him.
The same is true of the step whereby
Generalissimo Chang Kai-shek assumes
direction "over all land and air forces
of the United Nations which are now or
may in the future be operating in the
Chinese theater."
In these developments is belated ad-
mission that the Far Eastern interests OF
Great Britain, the Netherlands and the
United States are at bottom identical.
And there is further, perhaps, more sig
nif1cant admission that these colonial
interests are not necessarily at variance
with those of China. For the first time
since the opium wars of century ago
China and the Anglo-Saxon powers have,
thanks to japanese policy, found a mu-
tually acceptable plan of cooperation.
Historic Agreement.
To appreciate the importance of this
development, 1t is necessary to recall the
sharp differences which in the past have
characterized the policies of the United
States and Great Britain toward China
1t is necessary to consider what would
have been thought, only very recently, of
any proposal that American and British
troops should serve in Siam under the
command Of a Chinese general
Announcement of the establishment of
unified command in the Far East fol-
lowed Immediately on the heels of the
joint agreement between 26 governments
now at war with the Axis alliance, as
signed in Washington on New Year Day.
Parties to this historic agreement,
which also springs from the Churchill
Roosevelt conversations, are the United
States, Great Britain and the five self
governing dominions dncluding India)
nine European governments : In exile,
eight small republics Of the Central
American and Caribbean areas, China
and Russia. The inclusion of the latter
is the more important because the Soviet
is not party to the strictly military ar
rangement in the Southwest Pacific.
BY this agreement Of January l each
signatory government pledges itself to
all-out military or economic" action
against those members Of the Tri-Partite
Pact and its adherents with which such
government is at war" OF equal import
is the further pledge mot to make a
separate armistice or peace with the
enemies"
In other words, Russia. though re-
naming at peace with Japan, pledges
itself to full and enduring cooperation
with Great Britain and the United States
in the war against Germany and Italy
An identical pledge is given by the
Anglo-Saxon nations with regard to
Russias struggle against the dictator
ships of Central Europe. Thus the fear
of Russo German peace, at some mo-
ment acceptable to those two nations
alone, is substantially allayed
Atlantic Pact Bolstered.
The Declaration Of Washington, how
ever, does more than create wartime
alliance between its adherents. The
declaration goes further by specifically
underwriting the postwar purposes and
principles embodied in the Atlantic
charter issued by Prime Minister
Churchill and Mr.. Roosevelt last August.
BY this action, and also by inviting
other nations to adhere to it. the Decla-
ration Of Washington provides a definite
foundation for another league of nations
or similar permanent organization for
world peace.
A third related and major develop