Evening star., 1942-01-07
Chino's Expanding Role

"s'S - .NHSss0s'S sNSsS
Generalissimo Chang Kai-shek's
reception into the Allied supreme
joint command, coupled with re-
ported transfers Of Chinese troops
beyond their home borders into
Burma and possibly to Malaga in
defense of hard-pressed Singapore.
emphasizes China's expanding role in
the grand alliance against Axis ag-
gression. Indeed, this role involves
a difference not merely in scope but
also In character, which may have
momentous consequences.
The Chinese have been waging
their particular war against Japa-
nese aggression for nearly five years.
When the present general war began
in Europe a trifle over two years ago,
the Chino-Japanese struggle re-
manned essentially a separate affair.
Not until Japan formally joined the
Axis in the autumn of 1910 did
America and Britain put aid to
China, their obvious ally, on an ef-
fective basis And even then, the
idea was to bolster Chinese resist
ance against Japan, keeping the lat
ter too busy to venture an open entry
into the war on the Axis side. That
China should take a major part In
the general struggle was not then
on the cards, nor could it well be
until Japan took the plunge and
made her supreme bid for empire
over the entire Orient and the Pa
cif1c Ocean.
The startling revelation of Japa-
nese striking power during the first
month Of this new Pacific conflict,
with the equally alarming revelation
OF the deficiencies OF the Western
Allies to meet 1t, has compelled an
entire re-evaluation OF China's con-
tribution to the common cause. One
of the Western Allies gravest handi-
caps in the Orient is lack of trained
man power. That is something
which China can supply abundantly
wherever it can be transported and
provisioned. And the government
Of Free China has made it clear from
the start that it is more than ready
to do its full share in this respect.
Four years and more of warfare
over vast area have produced a
huge Chinese army of trained and
seasoned soldiers who have shown
their mettle by fighting the Japa-
nese invaders to standstill on every
front. Man for man, the Chinese
regulars have proved themselves as
good as the Japanese, or better. The
one thing that has prevented the
Chinese from taking the offensive
has been lack Of heavy mechanized
equipment-in other words, artillery,
tanks and planes. The Chinese
themselves manufacture light arms
and ammunition, but it has proved
impossible to get enough heavy
equipment into the country by the
one practicable route, the Burma
Road. For this reason, China's
trained man power literally has been
piling up in superabundant quantity,
waiting for the time when it could
be used effectively.
The idea now has been broached
that it may be easier to take these
men beyond China to their heavy
equipment, rather than try to bring
the heavy equipment to them at
home. Infantry and their light
equipment certainly could move
rapidly into Burma and be dis
tributed thence in any direction de-
sired. China has available more
than 200 divisions of crack troops,
more than 100000 men, besides at
least 100 divisions of fair second
line troops and something like 1,0O0,-
900 irregulars skilled in guerilla war
fare. With 100000 men under arms,
China could spare many divisions of
regulars for foreign service. The
Chinese by nature are so hardy and
adaptable that they could function
more efficiently under a variety of
conditions than almost any other
troops. They surely could live on
less and stand tropical climates
better than the japanese, who do
not stand great heat and strange
diet we'll
It is therefore quite possible that
we may soon see Chinese divisions
taking a prominent part in the
operations developing in Burma and
in the defense of Singapore, to say
nothing of defending the Neither
lands Indies. This is feature worth
noting for more than military rea-
sons.