Saigon, Feb. 12.
Attempts by the Japanese to unload military equipment and aviation petrol from a cruiser here in the past three days were blocked by the French authorities who protested against the Japanese action, reliable quarters said today.
The French protest apparently came after uniformed ground crews were landed on Sunday and transported to the Saigon airfield to tend seven Japanese aircraft, four commercial liners and three military planes. ground crews brought enough equipment for an extended stay.
Meanwhile, an unimpeachable foreign diplomatic source told the United Press that "I possess information confirmed by the highest quarters that Siam already has agreed to give the Japanese naval and air bases in Thailand."
He added that Bangkok was one the airfields included in the deal and that several Japanese bombers already were stationed there, ico ssid that he had unconfirmed information indicating that Thailand would join Japan's new order in East Asia programme as soon as peace between Thailand an Indo-China is at Tokyo. He believed that the Japanes would induce Thailand to sign a pact of mutual assistance Meanw! Japanese naval units were reported by authoritative quarters to be patrolling waters off Indo-
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