OCR
X.AeNoell. for November 1952. THE SITUATION IN MACAO. During this summer, the peace of the P, rtuguese Colony Macao was troubled by frontier incidents, which quite obviously had been provoked by the Chinese frontier guards, The the old guards had been replaced by Communist elite forces, all of the veterans of the Chinese Civili War and of the Korean War. In other terms men who had priven their loyalty to the Communist regime, who could be relied upon to fight when told to do so, and, more important still, to stop when called upon to stop the fignting. The Portuguese garrison of 5000 reacted to the Chinse provocation. This garrison is only partly white. A thousand men are Nesroes from Angola, among the most warlike dark tribes. The fight of the Portuguese soldiers was supported by the artillesy fire of the Portuguese gunboat Goncao Valho and by the batteries of the fort ; the Chinese on the Lapa Island at haif a Kilometer of the harbour entrance tolik part in the fighting. Then, 98 suddenly as it had come, the fighting ceased, to give place to an uncertain peace or rather truce. Visiting the tom today, one finds Little signs of nervousness. Macao has accepted the situation of uncertainty. Nobody has any real illusions of safety. Everybody, including the authorities, knows, that if the Chinese really wanted to take the town they could do so. The P rtuguese garrison would ficht. The very nurrow entrance of th@ presqu’ile, only half a Kilometer wide, would certeiniy permit glowdown operations, especially since even to the casual observer it is obvious that the Portuguese garrison 1s well equipped with the most modern weapons and that its fighting mprale is high. In fact, tf the Chinese came, no one would think of surrender. But the town is only 5 Kilometers long to 2 Kilometers largee It is thus under fire. And in the fishing harbour a lending from Lapa would in this case be almost certain. And a resistance on the two small Islands Taica and Celeane would be only a short matter. ; Thus the eíty at the mouth of the Sin-Kiang has to rely for its protection on two things : the strong diplomacy of Lisbon ; the fear of the Chinese of becoming 4nvolved in a general war. And the P.rtuguese diplomacy had made no secret of it, that a pacific surrender of the colony is ruled gut.