Hainan Sentry of the South China Sea C

The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea.

The drama of the people whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific War. Here as another public service is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come.

Sentry of the South China Sea. More than half a century, Iron-Nam, the great island that lies off the southeast tip of China, has balanced like a bomb on a fingertip.

Here on this island, the interests of four nations were in conflict. Iron-Nam must not be seated to any foreign power without the confront of France. France said that. Nothing must happen to Iron-Nam, which will affect the British line of communication between Hong Kong and Singapore.

Britain said that. Foreigners must remember that high-end rise across Japan's main feelings to the south-east, to India and to Europe. Japan said that. The island belongs to China, and China sought to control it. But today, after a decade of aggression, it is in Japanese hands.

And today it has become a focal point in the war in the Pacific. Take a look at this map. This will give you some idea of the importance of Hainan. This is an American expert on Hainan.

It is 13,000 square miles an area, just off the southeast coast of China. That, coupled with its strategic value, makes it potentially one of the most powerful military bases in the Far East. The French were thinking of this and of business when they came out to this part of the Pacific, back in the early part of the 18th century.