Joint Defence of Pacific Suggested by Newspaper ing, Feb. 2 The necessity of China's participa tion in the programme for the joint @efence of the southern Pacite by Britain, the United States, Australia and the Dutch East Indies, is em phasized in a special article to which the Chinese official "Central Daily News" gives prominence this morning.
"It Japan moves in the southern Pacific", the article declares, "opera~ tions will not be confined to naval engagements only. The army's part will be equally important in view of the fact that Japan will be using French Indo-China and Thailand as bases for an attack on Burma.
"China cannot remain indifferent to Japans southward expansion programme, for such southward expansion on the part of Japan will be a fetal blow to China's existence. Japan's move in the south Pacific is at the same time a major move against, China. Thereare at present 10.000,000 Chinese residing in the South Seas whose lives and property are directly threatened by Japan's expansion to the south.
"We shall have to defeat this expansion before we can hope for final victory. Therefore China will have to discuss with the powers concerned for the joint defence of the southern Pacific," the article concludes.—
Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.