The Wilmington morning star., 1943-04-03
Interpreting
The War
BY GLENN BABB


of Manchukuo, obviously looking
over Japan's military and politi.
cal fences in that outpost facing
the Soviet Union. A year ago this
would have released a flood of
speculation about an early Jana.
nese invasion of Siberia. Against
the background of today's Orien.
tai situation, however, it excites
little interest.
1t seems to be merely part of
farcial program the japanese
government is carrying through in
an apparent attempt to convince
somebody-the Japanese people or
their Asiatic subject races-that
sphere is one big brotherhood
leagued to keep the wicked white
man out of Asia.
Japan's relations with Russia
have never seemed more firmly
based on their neutrality pact Of
| two years ago. For b o h peace
! along their common frontiers
seems eminently desirable as long
as each is fighting for survival
against mighty adversary else
where. For Japan this condition
will persist until the end of the
war except in h improbable
event that she destroys the United
States Navy and invades the Amer
lean continent.
For Russia, however change
is possible in, say. 1914 or 1945,
to take Mr.. Churchill's conserva-
tive guess at the date of Hitler's
| defeat.
These premises lead to the con.
clusion that instead of it being
for Tokyo to choose whether and
when the gap in the global war
shall be closed by conflict between
Japan and Russia the choice is
more likely to lie with Moscow.
Any such decision, quite under
standably, would be dictated pri-
marily by the interests of the So.
Wet Union as they are understood
by the strong, single-purposed man
in the Kremlin. In other words
Russia, should she enter the Pa.
cific war, will do so to assure
herself of security and peace in
the east and perhaps also to pay
off certain accounts she has been
carrying on her ledgers for dec
AIDES, rather than to furnish ST.
berian bases for the United States
Air Force.
It is hardly to be expected that
Russia as a great Asiatic power,
perhaps the strongest of all when
this war is over, will be content
to leave the redrawing of the
frontiers of northeastern Asia to
other nations when Japan is strip
ped of her continental conquests.
The surest way of reserving a seat
at the table where this is done
is to participate actively in the
liquidation of the Japanese war
machine. 1t is not illogical to as
sumo, therefore, that this may be
done in Russia's own good time
1t may develop that Russias
eastern frontiers will confront the
United Nations with problems just
as knotty as those already appar-
ent in the west. Russia has his
toric ambitions and undeniable in
terests in eastern Asia which may
not be easy to reconcile with the
purposes Of some of her Allies,
notably China, with whom after
this war she may have common
boundary of some 5000 miles.
It is not intended here to as
cribe to the Soviet Union preda-
| tory designs or desire to make
friction. But speculative look
into the future of eastern Asia
suggests strongly that the western
powers may have to decide their
attitudes toward the following pos
sible Russian actions:
She probably will demand the
return OF southern Sakhalin, lost
to Japan in 1905.
/ She mar ask for restoration of
her old paramount interests in
northern, perhaps even southern,
Manchuria, in disagreement with
OllllId Pul pOoC w lCSel1il lO1l oOF7
ereignty there. Manchuria was
the scene of the last surge of
Russian expansion toward warm
water under the czars.
She may want a major voice
in the destiny of Korea.
= She may ask recognition of her
position of protector of outer Mon
golia.
She may call for recognition of
Russian paramount interests in
Sinkiang (Chinese Tukestan), al
ready within the Soviet economic
sphere.
Soviet desires, it is recognized,
do not always follow the same
channels as did czarist ambitions.
Moscow long ago renounced many
of the imperial regimes claims on
China and it is not to be assumed
that these necessarily will be re-
vived. But it is highly probable
that in this list are questions that
will confront the victorious ALI
Oh 1OdE 1OdH