Chapter 86 Non-Aggression Treaty (Please Subscribe!)

Arthur and all the Australian officials fell silent. Unexpectedly, the Dutch government compromised so easily on what should be the most controversial topic in the negotiation of buying natives.

This also means that the most difficult part of buying natives, that is, suppressing the resistance of natives, will be borne by the Dutch government.

There was even a brief silence on the scene until Arthur coughed lightly and gradually recovered.

Prime Minister Evan asked in disbelief: "Minister Helbert, are you sure that the Dutch government will undertake all the work of capturing and transporting natives?"

An native is not worth much money, even if there are thousands of natives, their value will not exceed 100,000 pounds.

For a small amount of tens of thousands of pounds, the army is sent to capture and transport natives. What is the benefit for the Netherlands to do this? Even if each native can get ten pounds of funds, it is just not a loss for the Dutch government. If you want to make a lot of money from the Sino-Turkish trade, I am afraid that the cost of sending troops and fleets is not a small number.

"Of course, Minister Evan. We are very sincere about our cooperation with Australia. If your government is not assured, we can also sign a treaty with clear terms to confirm this cooperation." Minister Helbert nodded as a matter of course and said with a smile.

Seeing Minister Helbert say this, even if everyone still feels a little strange, they are relieved.

After signing the treaty, even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands wants to go back on its word in the future, it depends 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, and it can take this opportunity to seek more Southeast Asian islands, and even directly intervene 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 General William want to sign a friendly non-aggression treaty with your government and the Australian New Guinea government. The East Indian market can also be partially opened to Australia. I think Australia and the Netherlands currently have no conflicts on the mainland and colonies. It is also entirely possible to sign a representative non-aggression treaty and mutual trade treaty based on the current good relationship." Minister Helbert changed the subject and continued.

Since Queen Victoria handed over the ownership of New Guinea and the control of New Zealand to Arthur, Australia has already had the momentum to unify Oceania and has posed considerable danger to Southeast Asia in the north.

An Australia that has no foreign enemy risks and is very close to Southeast Asia is not good news for all East Indian natives and colonial countries.

The British Empire and Germany are not bad. They are not only the world's first and second powers, but also have good relations and origins with Australia.

France, which also has its own colonies in Southeast Asia, has colonies in Vietnam and Laos, which are relatively far away from Australia.

In this way, the only country that has extremely important colonies, and the colonies are relatively close to Australia, and have no relationship with Australia is the Netherlands.

Although Portugal also has Portuguese Timor not far from the north of Australia, this land has a small population and a small area, and is not so important to Portugal.

But the Netherlands is different. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, once known as the coachman of the sea, can only stay in its own land and survive.

The fleet that once dominated has long been defeated by Britain. The current size of the 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 open strength and national strength, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is also a lean 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 takes at least one month to get from the Netherlands to Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies.

On the Australian side, it only takes a week at most 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 hard to say whether the Netherlands can hold on to it if other powers do not interfere.

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 piece of land in Southeast Asia.

But Australia is different. First of all, Australia is not a great power, and its comprehensive national strength can only be barely regarded as a third-rate country in Europe.

Moreover, Australia and the British Empire have a very deep relationship, and Australia's monarch Arthur is even more favored by the former Queen Victoria of the British Empire.

In addition, Australia also has a good relationship with the German Empire, and there were rumors that the two countries had reached a support treaty.

Under various factors, the Dutch government generally felt that it must take the initiative to sign a non-aggression treaty with Australia in order to better guarantee the security of the Dutch East Indies.

The status of the Dutch East Indies can be shoulder to shoulder with the status of the real India in the British Empire.

If the British Empire, which lost India, could not keep the throne of the world's first great power, then the Netherlands, which lost the Dutch East Indies, would 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 a major matter as signing a treaty between countries was definitely not something he could decide.

Only after Arthur nodded could he express his opinion. Or rather, he conveyed Arthur's opinion on his behalf.

Prime Minister Evan looked over and saw Arthur nodded gently, then he turned around and said to Minister Helbert and Governor William: "Australia is a new country. The national defense we have cannot even fully defend the country, but we also have 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 to maintain a state of peaceful development in Southeast Asia and will work hard to maintain the current state of peace."

Minister Helbert will not believe Prime Minister Evan's nonsense.

But Minister Helbert is still happy to see that Australia is willing to sign a treaty.

"That's great news, Prime Minister Evan. If possible, we also invite your government to send a diplomatic delegation to the Netherlands and send ambassadors to each other. At that time, under the joint witness of our monarchs, we will sign a non-aggression treaty that has far-reaching significance for both countries." Minister Helbert said with a smile.

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