Shanghai, June 12.
Sino-Japanese hostilities yesterday entered a ne phase, ith the announcement by the Japanese navy of he com= mencement of active operations against Hankow.
The announcement, which indicated the beginning of a naval drive up the river, was made by a spokesman for the Navy here yesterday afternoon.
Simultaneously, foreign warships and merchantmen were lasked to withdraw from the area extending from Wuhu to Hukow, about 30 kims, north-east of Kiukiang.
The latter notification, the spokesman said, has been conveyed to for-ign envoys by Mr. Masayuki Toni, Minister-at-large, at the request of Vice-Admiral Koshiro Oikawa, Commander-in-Chief of, the Japanese:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.