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13.

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The remaining Portuguese possession in ́est and East

Africa, and in India and the Far East, are remote from the main

theatres of operations and well-flanked by Allied territories.

14.

It will be seen from the above, therefore, that

Portuguese territory of importance to us in war with

Germany is confined to the mainland and to the Azores and

Cape Verde Islands, and the question arises as to the extent

to which our strategic requirements are already being met.

Allied Strategic Requirements from a Neutral Portugal.

15.

If the Germans were permitted to make use of

Portuguese bases for their naval and air forces, it would

facilitate attack on Allied sea-borne trade. For this

reason we stated in our previous report that, with Portugal

neutral, it is an essential strategic requirement that her

harbours and aerodromes, particularly on the mainland and

in the Atlantic islands, should be denied to our enemies,

16.

As indicated by the Foreign Office, at the

outset of the war the Portuguese took a number of measures to

attain the ends we desired in this connection, and to the

entire satisfaction of the Service Attaches in Lisbon,

17.

Although a few reports of German submarines making

use of remote Portuguese anchorages have been received,

none of these has been verified. It is, in fact, considered

unlikely that the Germans have succeeded in making even

clandestine use of Portuguese facilities, since the

authorities have established adequate coast watching and

reporting organisation, and have co-operated fully with us.

We have evidence which leads us to believe that these

arrangements have been working efficiently.

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