Chapter 86 Non-Aggression Treaty (Please subscribe!)
Arthur and all Australian officials fell silent. Unexpectedly, the Dutch government compromised on what was probably the most controversial topic in the negotiations to purchase the natives.
This also means that the most difficult part of purchasing the indigenous people, that is, suppressing the indigenous resistance, will be borne by the Dutch government.
There was even a brief silence in the scene, until Arthur coughed lightly and then gradually recovered.
Prime Minister Evan asked with some disbelief: "Minister Herbet, are you sure that the Dutch government will undertake all the work of capturing and transporting indigenous people?"
One indigenous person is not worth much, even if there are thousands of indigenous people , and its value will not exceed one hundred thousand pounds.
For tens of thousands of pounds, the army was dispatched to capture and transport the indigenous people. What are the benefits to the Netherlands? Even if each native can get ten pounds of funds, it will only be a loss for the Dutch government. If they want to make a lot of money through trade between Turkey and China, I am afraid that the expenditure on sending out troops and fleets will not be a small amount.
"Of course, Minister Evan. We are very sincere about Australia's cooperation with us. If your government is worried, we can also sign a treaty with clear terms to confirm this cooperation." Minister Helbert nodded naturally. Said with a smile.
Seeing Minister Helbert say this, even though everyone still felt a little strange, they still felt relieved.
After signing the treaty, even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands wants to renege in the future, it will depend on whether the Australian government agrees.
Even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands wants to go back on its word in the future, it will directly give Australia an excuse. It can take this opportunity to seek more Southeast Asian islands, and even get involved in the Dutch East Indies and occupy some areas of great interest.
"Of course, in addition to signing a treaty to sell the natives, the Dutch government and the Dutch East Indies government represented by Governor William want to sign a friendly non-aggression treaty with your government and the Australian New Guinea government. The market in East India can also be used Partially open to Australia. I think Australia and the Netherlands currently do not have any conflicts in their homeland or colonies. They can also rely on their current good relations to sign representative non-aggression treaties and mutual trade treaties." Herbert The minister changed the subject and continued.
Since Queen Victoria handed over the ownership of New Guinea and control of New Zealand to Arthur, Australia has had the tendency to unify Oceania and has posed considerable danger to Southeast Asia to the north.
An Australia without any risk of foreign enemies and very close to Southeast Asia is not good news for all East Indian indigenous and colonial powers.
Fortunately, the British Empire and Germany are not only the first and second largest powers in the world, but they also have good relations and connections with Australia.
France, which also has its own colonies in Southeast Asia, has its colonies in Vietnam and Laos, which are relatively far away from Australia.
As a result, the only country that has extremely important colonies, and the colonies are relatively close to Australia, and has no relationship with Australia is the Netherlands.
Although Portugal also owns Portuguese Timor not far north of Australia, this land has a small population and a small area, so it is not that important to Portugal.
But the Netherlands is different. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, once known as the coachman of the sea, can now only stay on its own land and survive.
The fleet that dominated the country for a while had already been defeated by Britain. The current navy can only be regarded as second-rate in Europe and can only barely defend its colonies. Of course, this is under the premise that other powers have no idea about the Dutch East Indies.
Although in terms of apparent strength and national strength, the Kingdom of the Netherlands can be considered a skinny camel that is bigger than a horse, it is still very powerful compared to Australia. But because the Netherlands is far away in Europe, it will take at least a month to get from the Netherlands to Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies.
As for Australia, it only takes a week at most to get from the capital Sydney to Batavia.
The huge gap in distance represents a huge gap in logistics. If Australia really wants to seize the Dutch East Indies, it is really hard to say whether the Netherlands can hold on without interference from other powers.
The reason why the Netherlands was able to hold on to its colonies before was because the British Empire did not allow other powers to occupy such a large area of land in Southeast Asia.
But Australia is different. First of all, Australia is not a great power, and even its comprehensive national strength can barely be regarded as a third-rate European country.
Moreover, Australia and the British Empire have a very deep relationship, and the Australian monarch Arthur was favored by the former Queen Victoria of the British Empire.
Moreover, Australia also has a good relationship with the German Empire. There were rumors that the two countries had reached a support treaty.
Due to various factors, the Dutch government generally feels that it must take the initiative to sign a non-aggression treaty with Australia in order to better ensure the security of the Dutch East Indies.
The status of the Dutch East Indies can be compared with the status of real India in the British Empire.
If the British Empire, which had lost India, could not retain its position as the world's number one power, then the Netherlands, which had lost the Dutch East Indies, would have completely become a third-rate or even inferior country in Europe.
After hearing what Minister Helbert said, Prime Minister Evan looked at Arthur.
He knew very well that such an important matter as signing a treaty between countries was definitely not his decision.
Only after Arthur nodded could he express his opinion. In other words, he was conveying Arthur's opinions on his behalf.
Prime Minister Evan looked around and saw Arthur nodding lightly, then turned around and said to Minister Herbert and Governor William: "Australia is an emerging country, and the national defense we have The power cannot even completely defend the homeland, but we also maintain good expectations for peaceful development. Australia is willing to sign a non-aggression treaty with the Dutch government, and this treaty can also be extended to our respective colonies. We are willing We will maintain a state of peaceful development in Southeast Asia and will work hard to maintain the current peaceful state."
Minister Herbert will not believe Prime Minister Evan's nonsense.
But Minister Herbert is still happy to see Australia willing to sign a treaty.
"That's really good news, Prime Minister Evan. If possible, we also invite your government to send a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands and send ambassadors to each other. At that time, under the witness of our monarchs, we will sign an agreement for the two countries. They all have far-reaching non-aggression pacts," Minister Herbet said with a smile.
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(End of chapter)