London. Feb. 25.
Continued command of the two gateways into the Indian Ocean, namely the Suez Canal and the marrow straits dominated by Singapore, is a supreme strategic issue for Great Britain in this war, declared "Mr. L. S. Amery, Secretary of State for India and Burma, broadcasting yesterday, This gave the victories of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief in the Middle Cost, far more than local importance and gave its special significance to the Imperial reinforcements now being massed at Singapore.
After a tribute to the gallantry of Indian troops in Libya, Eritrea and Abyssinia, Mr. Amery said India was now one of the greatest industrial countries in the world, as well as one of the greatest producers of foodstuffs and raw materials. She was already aking her own rifles, machine-guns, id artillery and ammunition and 90 per cent. of all miscellaneous equipment for the air force.
The Indian army, he said, was being rapidly expanded to a force of 500.000 men armed, trained. equipped and mechanized on a modern scale, exclusive of troops already serving abroad,—Reuter, i
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