63
W. 757.
WEEKLY LONDON LETTER.
By Andrew Blackmore.
British Policy in the Far East.
r. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, and Lord Halifax,
the Foreign Secretary, recently stated in the Houses of Parliament
the policy of the British Government in the Far East. Preliminary
to the discussion about Tientsin, Britain recognised the dominant
position of the Japanese Army in the territories of China which the
Army actually occupies. This attitude is in kceping with that
adopted by France, the United States of America, and other countries
which have large interests in China.
Where the Japanese occupation is effective Britain will not
countenance opposition to or obstruction of such measures as the
Japanese army may consider necessary for its security, and for the
maintenance of public order. But a clear distinction will be drawn
between the British attitude in such localities and the general
British policy in China.
sides with Japan.
There can be no question of Britain taking
The many British Concessions in China have been of tremendous
importance to the country. They are wealthy, well administered, and
they have been regarded as refuges by Chinese who have found them-
selves in any sort of trouble. The Japanese have therefore tended
to regard them, quite unjustly, as pro-Chinesc strongholds in
territories controlled by the Japanese army, and have blamed Great
Britain for their own failure to subjugate China.
The attitude now prescribed for British subjects is that they
should "endeavour to regard the Sino-Japanese hostilities with more
understanding of Japan's difficulties and of the Japanese side of
the case", which is already done by other Powers in the Far East.
That this agreement will completely restore good relations between
Great Britain and Japan is too much to hope; but it should surely lead
to some :odification of the anti-British campaign in the Japanese
press.
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