Evening star., 1942-06-28
Australian Statesman Forecasts
Japanese Drive on India Shortly
Sir Bertram Stevens Says Axis Partners Intend
to Make Junction Before End
of This Year
By Sir Berfram Stevens,
North American Newspaper Alliance.

The distance from France to England
Is 20 miles on the map. But 1t is a for
midable obstacle in terms of supply and
resistance. The distance between Japan
and Singapore or Java is nearly 5000
miles, but it proved an easy one to cover.
That Is the situation we may have to
face. How India fares In the face of a
full-scale attack is vital to the United
Nations. 1t is Of vital interest to the
whole future Of he world civilization.
Japan is now about to attack, not the
citadel indeed, but very large slice Of
the British Empire as whole India in
terms Of population. is four-f1fth of the
empire, in terms of resources it is also
very important, in terms of natural in
dustrial development, thanks to past
misguided and short-sighted policy-it is
not as important.
India's Importance.
But from strategic point Of view her
Importance can't be over-emphasized.
Bombay. Colombo, Calcutta and Karachi
are vital links in the chain of communI-
cations that criss-cross the world.
Thus with Japan in India the only
communications between Australia and
Britain would be by way Of America.
Moreover, the possibility of raising mill
lions of enthusiastic troops would be
ended. China would be isolated and
probably forced to sue for peace or be
badly broken. Japan would control Asia
and would begin Immediately to mobilize
the manpower of more than a thousand
million Asiatics for the conquest of the
world. The Asiatic peril would become a
peril indeed. Japan would be the mistress
Of the greatest empire the world has
ever seen.
That is why the coming battle for
India is of crucial importance and events
in India this year, together with events
in Russia, will settle the destiny of man
kind for very long period to come.
How far is India prepared to meet the
challenge OF the time?
According to military strategists,
India's defenses were supposed to be
mainly outside India, viz, Singapore.
Mideast and the navy. Singapore was
supposed to be impregnable-and at any
rate the combined strength of the Pacific
forces of the friendly nations was a
reservoir OF mighty power to be called on
when needed!
But Singapore has fallen. The Mid
east is heavily involved and threatened.
and the navy's strength has been heavily
iv1
time, indeed, it looked as if Japan COM
manded the Indian Ocean and that it
would be many months, and perhaps far
longer. before an effective challenge to
Japan's naval power could be prepared.
Problems Of Defense.
Thus India is now faced with problems
which until recently had never been
seriously thought out at all. There is
the problem of defending the coastline.
which, though not so long as Australias,
Is still extremely long. 1t is coast far
easier to land On than Australia, for
from nearly every point good roads run
to the interior. Communications are
inland from the ports in conformity with
commercial requirements they are not
50 arranged as to facilitate rapid military
movements from east to west or north
to south.
India, of course, has been invaded
many times. Before the British and
European inflltrations all those invasions
came from the northwest frontier. The
seapower Of the French and British
enabled them to capture India when the
interior of the country was in state Of
anarchy by seizing ports on the seaboard
and pushing inland.
It is noticeable that their first point Of
entry was Ceylon. the island at the bass
Of India, which, from the naval point of
view, really commands the whole posi-
ton. No invasion of India has yet been
attempted from the east through Burma.
That had been assumed to be impossible
and no preparations had been made to
meet 1t. The importance of Rangoon
was discovered only after Singapore had
fallen and I have heard some people in
India declare that it would now seem
that it would even have paid us to have
abandoned Singapore and put all our
strength into the defense of Burma"