CO129-564-1 Sino-Japanese War- landing of foreign military aircraft in Hong Kong 8-10-1937 - 26-12-1937 — Page 30

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and to prescribe such penalties as may be considered

necessary in the event of infringement. There is no reason

in international law why aircraft should not be confiscated

in such circumstances and their personnel detained for a more

or less prolonged period.

5.

Given a formal state of war, the rules of

neutrality would apply, according to which belligerent

military aircraft may not fly over neutral territory or waters,

and a neutral has a duty to prevent them from doing so and,

if necessary, to use force for that purpose. If belligerent

aircraft should fly over neutral territory or waters, they

ought to be compelled to land. If, either on compulsion or

of their own accord, they land, the aircraft and its personnel

should be interned. It is, moreover, well established that

the fact that the frontier has been crossed by error, by stress

of weather or otherwise by force majeure makes no difference.

The above was the practice followed in the war and it was

subsequently enshrined in the air warfare rules of 1923.

The latter have not indeed been ratified by the governments,

but nevertheless on this point they represent the correct

international practice. Articles 40 and 42 of these rules

provide as follows:-

"Article 40. Belligerent military aircraft are

"forbidden to enter the jurisdiction of a neutral State.

"Article 42. A neutral Government must use the

"means at its disposal to prevent the entry within its

jurisdiction of belligerent military aircraft and to

"compel them to alight if they have entered such

"jurisdiction.

"A neutral Government shall use the means at its

"disposal to intern any belligerent military aircraft

"which is within its jurisdiction after having alighted

5

"for

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