Singapore, June 28.
British and French military and naval leaders who conferred here last week on problems of joint defence of British and French possessions in the Far East came to the conclusion that their combined forces are now sufficient to repel effectively a strong slspanese sea and air attack on British
la, it was understood: here today, Exench possessions in southern Singapore would be the base of the defence forces and one of its main advantages is its great distance from major Japanese bases, it was believed. This tact was said to make Singapore impregnable, Although it was pointed out that Hainan Island might be a threat to Indo-China, there is no evidence that Japan has begun to fortify the island, it was understood, Singapore, it was concluded, would be the safest base for the repair and refitting of British and French warships in the event of war against Japan. The distance of this base restricts its offensive value, however, 80 bases are expected to be rushed to completion in Malaya and Indo-China.
Britain is expected to decide that thesnayal forces of China, the East Indies and squadrons of the Royal Indian Navy should operate as one force in close liaison with the Singapore, Australian and New Zealand navies—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.