The question of whether a Japanese occupation of the island of Hainan would form a threat to the security of French Indo-China was discussed in the semi-official "Petit Parisien" this morning by the deputy for that colony, M. Jean de Beaumont.
'The' writer recalls the various measures taken by successive French governments to prevent the occupation of Hainan. In 1898 China gave an undertaking that the island would never be fortified and as an extra concession France obtained the concession of Kwang-chow-wan, a territory of°1,000 square kilometres on the mainland directly opposite the island, In 1907 France concluded an agreement with Japan regarding Hainan and she has now taken a A further step by occupying the Paracel islands.
The deputy goes on to state that an occupation of the strategically important island of Hainan would not only seriously menace French Indo-China but would also gravely endanger British interests in the Far East.
The article concludes by declaring that it must be made definitely clear to the Japanese government that any attempt to establish its authority over A the island of Hainan would encounter. the joint resistance of France and leader of the Sudeten German Party, yesterday in an interview granted to the "Daily Telegraph."
Military action, he pointed out, would merely turn the whole Sudeten region into a battlefield with dire consequences for the inhabitants. He warned against further procrastination in dealing. with the problem, as he is not prepared to assume responsibility for order in the Sudeten regions if thr settlement is not arrived at before autumn, The present uncertainty and waves of violence in distressed areas of Bohemia have brought about a state of complete unproductivity, he declared, and under the present conditions, the people will not be able to survive this winter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.