As for immediate developments, it is still uncertain what Japan's
intentions either at Geneva or in Jehol are. ThoSe—they are only a minority—who have believed that Japan has been threatening more than she intended to perform must expect her to threaten to the end, and the end in that connexion is not quite yet. It is still conceivable, in other words, that the Mikado's Government will decide neither to leave the League nor to flout the League. But all the signs point in the other direction. Casual fighting has begun on the Jehol frontier, and though that may mean little in itself it is pretty Certainly the prelude to ..a concerted
invasion. China is determined to resist, and while her troops cannot compare in skill or equipment with the Japanese, they exceed them heavily in numbers and are perfectly ready to be killed. In the end—if she presses on to the end—Japan must gain her objectives, but it may be at a cost similar to that paid at Shanghai. The most important question arising is whether the operations will be localized or whether war will be formally declared, and in that event waged on any front available.
