Evening star., 1941-07-30
Our New Dutch Ally
Against japan
Writer ExpIoins Cooperation
Of Four Different Nations
Against Expansion by Nippon
Bu Blair BOlleS.

For practical purposes, the United
States has a new ally, the Dutch. Never
before In our Republics history have
we been so close to the government
OF the Netherlands. but the threaten
ing developments in the Far East have
made the Americans and the Dutch,
| with the Australians and the British,
| co-operators in an economic war against
Japan. We have been working with the
British a long time, and we know some
! thing about them and the roots Of their
policies. 1t might be useful, however,
to take a look at the Hollanders. They
are partly responsible for the present
vigor Of our Pacific policy.
The Dutch own the greatest island
colonial empire in the world, the East
Indies known officially as Netherlands
| India, which stretches more than 5000
miles over the South Seas. Sumatra,
Java, Borneo, New Guinea and Bali
| are probably the best known of these
islands. Borneo alone is as large as
| France. The foundation of this empire
rests in the great European competition
for the spice trade centuries ago, which
also led Columbus to the New World.
The East Indian Co. was organized in
1902 The islands came under the control
| of the Netherlands government in 1916.
Since the Indian archipelago is the
principal source of Netherlands income,
Netherlands foreign policy, even in It's
relation to Europe, has been developed
with the Far Eastern situation largely
in mind This fact influenced Neither
lands attitude toward Germany before
the war, and for a century it has kept
the Dutch close to England. Moreover
and this is paramount now-the Dutch
ownership of the Indies has inspired
an active Dutch apprehension about the
Japanese which now is almost so years
old
Earlier. however. the Dutch had taken
an active part in opening Japan to COM
, munication with the west. Dutch
traders on the Island Of Deshima pre-
pared the way for the entrance of Com
modore Perry and Townsend Harris into
Japan for the sake of opening COM
mercial relations between Japan and the
United States For years Dutch was the
language of japanese diplomacy.
Japan began to move southwark in
the general direction of the Indies after
the Sino-Japanese War closed in 1895
with the Treaty of Shimonoseki which
gave Japan the Island of Formosa and
the nearby islands of Pescadores. This
| was too close for Dutch comfort.
AS long ago as 1912 the Dutch found
Japanese naval men, disguised as rub
ber cult1vators and deep sea fishermen,
taking soundings of the harbors in the
small Indies islands of Mawi and
Momoi. Since 1884 the japanese have
made repeated efforts to negotiate COM
mercial agreements with the Indies that
would permit japanese nationals to
operate industries and wholesale and
retail businesses in the islands. This
was the central point of disagreement
that caused the collapse of the Dutch
japanese negotiations in June.
The Dutch have had a consistently
stern and unappeasing policy toward
! the japanese They have repulSed the
extreme Japanese commercial demands
because they saw japanese commercial
penetration as but the prelude TO polit-
ical penetration. However there was no
serious concern about the japanese in
The Hague, the Dutch capital, or Ba-
tavia. the Indies capital, until Germany
invaded Holland in May. 1910. This was
the signal for Governor General van
Starkenborgh to put the entire eastern
empire under martial law.
At the same time the Governor Cen
eral announced that the Dutch govern
ment could guard its empire and wanted
no outside help. This policy has under
gone rapid change, as the situation
today testifies The western Pacific area
| has become in effect the setting for
new system of balance of power, affected
by informal alliance. Informally and
indirectly, the Dutch now have assur-
ances of outside help from England,
Australia and the United States. The
four countries want the preservation
of the existing balance of power. They
are banded together to make sure that
Japan does not upset it.
Between the day of the Netherlands
invasion by Germany and the day OF
the japanese southwark push into Indo-
China last week, the four countries were
busy making the military prepare tions
needed to insure the protection of the
status quo, of the existing balance. The
Dutch added to their Indies navy and
army The British strengthened Singa-
pore The Australians improved their
base at Darwin, just south of the In
dies. The United States added to its
Philippines military strength.
So the japanese are faced with four
military menaces to their southern
ambitions At this point the United
States needs no two-ocean navy for
protecting its back in the Pacific. The
prospective concert of action is con-
sidered powerful enough to halt the
Japanese even though Americas present
one-ocean Navy is occupied in the
Atlantic.
Some authorities here wonder why
Japan waited until last week to move
into Indo-China. Missed the boat" one
of them said. A year ago japan would
not have found the military strength
arrayed against her that is waiting now
in the South Pacific.
The four power cooperation in the
Indies region is new idea. The Dutch
have always taken the hint for their
Far Eastern policy from the British,
haoouee tha priticb hoea of Gippan0re