خارجي ٤٦/٦١١٦(س) "ملخصات استخباراتية سياسية أسبوعية سرية، الأرقام ٣٥٦-٤١٦، أغسطس ١٩٤٦ - نوفمبر ١٩٤٧" [و‎‎١‎٩‎٨] (٩٧٨/٤٠٣)

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war-torn province of Shantung. Beneath
the surface of this official facade of confi
dence, however, there is an under-current of
genuine concern indicating that all is not
going quite as well as the world is asked to
fj^eve. General Chiang Kai-shek, himself,
a^)ears to be anything but satisfied with
the military situation as a whole—more
particularly that in Manchuria. Bad rela
tions between the field commanders are
popularly thought to have been largely
responsible for the success of the recent
Communist drive in the Changchun-
Mukden area; and, following a visit of in
vestigation by the Generalissimo’s Chief of
Staff, General Chen Cheng, a number of im
portant changes have been made. General
Tu Yii-ming has been relieved of his
supreme command in Manchuria and
granted “ sick leave while General Sun
Li-jen has been appointed Deputy Com-
mander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army in
the field. General Wedemeyer is known to
hold a high opinion of General Sun Li-jen
and the latter’s appointment to so im
portant a post is thought to have been care
fully timed.
Another disturbance is reported to have
broken out in the Hi district of Sinkiang.
Details are lacking, but General Chang
( hih-chung, until recently Provincial
Governor of Sinkiang. is reported to have
stated at Urumchi that the situation is
critical.
Chinese official and mercantile interests
are not enthusiastic over the prospects of
trade with Japan after the resumption of
private trading on 15th August. They
have expressed misgivings in regard to
“ General MacArthur’s intended policy of
subsidising Japanese exports,” which they
believe will lead to dumping and prove
” ruinous to Chinese industry.” Five
members of the Control Yuan have re
quested the Government to endeavour to
have the matter held in abeyance pending
the signing of a peace treaty with Japan.
On 23rd July, a reciprocal Civil Aviation
Agreement, permitting British and Chinese
air lines to operate civil air services
between Chinese and U.K. territories, was
signed at Nanking. In general, it takes
the same form as the Agreement between
the U.K. and the U.S.A. which was con
cluded at Bermuda in 1946. Under this
Agreement British planes are entitled to
fly from London, or Singapore, to Canton,
Shanghai and Tientsin. British planes
may also operate from Hongkong to Canton
and Shanghai. For Chinese aircraft two
routes to the United Kingdom have been
opened—one through the Middle East and
southern Europe, and the other across the
Pacific via North America and the Atlantic.
Chinese planes may also ply from Shanghai
or Canton to Hongkong and Singapore.
Indonesia
The long and carefully planned Dutch
military campaign in the East Indies is
being carried out against little organised
resistance in either Java or Sumatra.
Claiming that they are already two days
ahead of schedule, the Netherlands com
bined forces have succeeded in occupying
extensive areas and most of the larger
towns in Last and West Java. A few
sharp clashes in the Semarang and
Sourabaya areas are reported to have
occurred, but to have been of short dura
tion. In Sumatra the Dutch have
encountered slightly more opposition,
although, even here, such checks as they
have encountered in their advance have
been caused chiefly by land mines and
booby traps. In the Medan neighbourhood
some fighting of a sharper nature is
reported to have taken place before a num
ber of estates were finally captured intact.
Iwo or three oil fields were also brought
under Dutch occupation and found to be in
fair condition, but reports state that some
of these were later found to have been set
alight, it is thought as the result of Indo
nesian infiltration after the sites had been
occupied.
Statements from Dutch military sources
indicate that no Indonesian property has
been damaged and that the Republicans are
only putting their threatened scorched-
earth policy into practice where Dutch and
other foreign-, especially Chinese-, owned
properties are concerned. Chinese property
owners are said already to have suffered
heavy losses in the burning of houses, shops
and warehouses including an appreciable
number of their rice mills. So far, the
only report received concerning British
property is that retreating Indonesians
have done considerable damage to British-
owned estates at Soebang. Dr. Gani, the
Republican Deputy Prime Minister who is
now being held in protective custody in
Batavia, has sent a verbal message to H.M.
Consul-General, expressing regret that
British property should have sustained
damage, which he attributes to the failure
of some Republican units to observe the
strict orders against such action issued by
his Government on the outbreak of
hostilities.
In conversation with H.M. Consul-
General in Batavia, Dr. van Mook showed
little concern over possible unfavourable
world reaction to the Dutch employment of
force and he intimated that in his judg-