London, July 18.
The British Government does not intend to exert pressure on China any eventual peace negotiations that may be launched between her and Japan, R.A. Buller, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for For-ign Affairs, stated in the House of Commons today. He added that the British Government does not_recogtnlze the Wang Ching-wei Government in Nanking.
Commenting on British policy In the Far East, and particularly in regard to the Burma Road problem, political quarters here said" tonight the AnglonJapanese agreement on the closure of the highway was due to the lack of support for Britain from. Washington and ish protest over the Japunese suspension of all shipping tame along the Central and South China coast, the spokesman said, he had olioed in press reports.
Such Japanese action, he pointed out, had been based on" absolute t was pointed out, was kept informed of developments But the British Government saw} tne signs there of support in the ease that a policy of "extreme firmness would raise serious Anglo-Japanese necessity of strategy and all shippin irrespective of nationality must vecognize the large-scale military operations now in. progress in China fact which had already been ¥ecos aod by both Great Britain and here tore, the spokesman of the! Navy Ofllee continued, It would be wie for Third Power shipping not to attempt to approach the designated areas in Central and South China, if only as a measure of safer Yo the British contention that the nowly-prohibited area along the coast contained valuable ports in whi to shelter from stormy weather, the typhoon season, the spokesman countered with the observation thal weather forecasts and advance information were such as to allow all shipping to take necessary precautions beforehand, as for Instance postpone the departure of vessels from port instend of being caught in the ivphioun at sea,—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.