The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 830: Chapter 620: Negotiation

"The East Indies government has made no move, and the Dutch Government is already seeking help from the British, but the British have yet to show any sign,” Foreign Secretary Daize said with a smile.

Long before the actions in Central America, Australasia had reached an agreement with the United Kingdom, securing disposal rights over the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines.

In other words, as long as Australasia makes no statement at present, it is impossible for the British to risk offending Australasia to help the Dutch.

After all, the Netherlands is but a small country at the doorstep of the British, whereas Australasia is the British’s steadfast ally overseas. The disparity between the two is simply too vast for the British to hesitate.

"Tell the British that Australasia will help the Dutch stabilize the order,” Arthur nodded and instructed.

The rebellion that broke out in the Dutch East Indies was the best opportunity, as such a large-scale rebellion was beyond the capabilities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to resolve alone. This was bound to mean that even if Australasia did not intervene, other countries would become involved in the upheaval.

The diplomacy of a country is this cruel: if you do not want to be coveted by other countries, you must make your country stronger at all times.

Even in later generations, it is the same. Strictly speaking, there is not a single moment of peace; it is nothing more than a mutual compromise among superpowers.

As for the small and medium-sized countries, their peace is merely a matter of words to the superpowers.

Currently, the Dutch East Indies could roughly be divided into three factions: the Colonial Government representing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, pure Dutch and some mixed-blood people, and a minority of mixed-bloods along with the genuine indigenous people.

Most Dutch immigrants still support the rule of the Kingdom Government, but they are certainly not staunch supporters.

Most indigenous people harbor considerable hostility toward the Dutch Government, which is also what makes dealing with the Dutch East Indies so troublesome; it is necessary to suppress the indigenous people by force.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands might possess such military strength to mobilize the whole country, but the question is, do the Dutch have the courage to use all their military might to suppress the indigenous people?

This would not only leave their native land vulnerable but also mean that should the suppression of the rebellion fail, the government would become the biggest victim of this event.

"Yes, Your Majesty!” Minister Daize said excitedly.

That Arthur could give such an order also meant that Australasia would definitely intervene in the situation in the Dutch East Indies.

In such a case, a war was likely to break out. As an important government official, some credit was bound to go his way after the victory of the war.

This was very important for Minister Daize, who was serving his third term as Foreign Secretary; it would determine whether he could attain a higher Title of Nobility and the possibility of aiming for a higher Position after an honorable retirement. ɽãŊÖBЕs̩

"Propose official negotiations with the Dutch Government, demanding that they resolve the dispute in the Dutch East Indies as soon as possible to avoid this crisis affecting the Australasian People,” Arthur said with a smile, “Give them a month to resolve it, or Australasia will use force to help them quell the rebellion.”

A month may seem long, but it takes a month to travel from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies.

That also means the Dutch East Indies would almost be unable to receive support from their native land and would have to struggle alone to quell the rebellion within a month.

If the Dutch East Indies had such military strength, the Dutch Government would have been troubled by it long ago.

This meant that what seemed like a reasonable demand was in fact an ultimatum to both the Dutch East Indies and the Dutch Government.

"Yes, Your Majesty!” Minister Daize said, nodding with a serious expression.

On September 3, 1925, the Australasian Government officially made representations to the Dutch Government, demanding that they resolve the crisis in the Dutch East Indies within a month to prevent any impact on the normal life of the Australasian people.

To ensure the safety of the lives of the Australasian people, the Dutch Government was also required to provide as much assistance as possible to the Australasians in the Dutch East Indies.

Such demands, once made, naturally attracted a great deal of attention worldwide.

The rebellion in the Dutch East Indies had already attracted much attention before, and with the official representation from the Australasian Government, the conflict in the Dutch East Indies was pushed to the top of the news most watched by the world’s populations.

People in other countries were also curious to see how the Dutch would react to such a formal negotiation from Australasia.

The afternoon of September 3, 1925, the Amsterdam Palace in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Although the power of the Dutch Monarch had been substantially reduced decades before, Queen Wilhelmina had shown no interest in power struggle since her coronation, and both the government and the People had been quite satisfied with this Monarch.

With the support of public opinion, Queen Wilhelmina naturally had a certain degree of influence in the government. While not too extensive, she still had some voting and decision-making power in major national discussions.

Rubbing her forehead, Queen Wilhelmina turned her gaze to the government officials and asked with a hint of anticipation, “My ministers, do you have any good suggestions?”

Although theoretically, negotiations are a fairly peaceful form of diplomacy, if the negotiating party is a superpower with strong military might, it is naturally not to be regarded as a simple negotiation.

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