Japanese Operations in New Guinea

Abstract

JAPAN struck very swiftly in the Pacific, with great force and in many different directions at once; when she had occupied the Netherlands Indies she stretched out farther to the south and attacked New Guinea: according to plan. As is well known, preparations for this Pacific war had been in progress for over twenty years. Japanese fishermen, pearl-fishers and shell-fishers, have thoroughly surveyed the coasts of Pacific islands, taking soundings and photographing even small bays and inlets; their numberless small craft were constantly found in pretended ignorance busying themselves in waters where they had no rights. Spies and agents settled all over the Netherlands Indies in the guise of traders, business men, travellers, tourists, and scientists. Japanese propaganda newspapers published in Malay and Dutch were actually printed in Java. All intelligent people living in that part of the world held no illusions about the menace of Japan, her power to strike, and the impossibility of defending those islands against invasion. New Guinea has always been included in the Japanese plans to occupy Nanyo (the South Lands). Before war broke out very useful stepping stones had been made from Japan in that direction. Strong colonies of Japanese had settled in the south of Mindanao (Philippines), in Portuguese Timor, and in the Aru and Kei islands. In Netherlands New Guinea 137,000 acres were leased from the Dutch to Japanese planters for what purported to be experimental cotton growing. On Timor a clever diplomatic move had been successfully negotiated with the Portuguese, resulting in a monopoly in coffee which is the main product of the Portuguese territory, and is traded with Makassar. An air line was run between Timor and Celebes by the Japanese, and they approached the Dutch with a proposal to have their own shipping line as well. This being refused, the Japanese held up the coffee indefinitely rather than use Dutch transport, thus attempting to disorganize the Union of Coffee Producers which had its headquarters in Java. One of the Japanese Cotton Research Stations which I visited on the coast 7