The Rise of Australasia

As France and Germany resumed intense fighting in the Verdun region, peace talks between the Netherlands and Australasia officially began in the distant lands of America.

Since December 15 of last year, the Netherlands and Australasia had entered a temporary period of peace.

Both parties carried out military management in their respective occupied regions, and the peace talks were scheduled for February 3, more than a month later.

This is easy to understand since, although the Netherlands is also a monarchical country, the power of the Dutch monarch was greatly reduced decades ago. The current Dutch Queen, Wilhelmina, has little power, and the government is controlled by political parties.

The Dutch government needed not only time to reach a unified consensus but also time to travel to Australasia in person for the peace talks.

The talks took place in Sydney, with Australasia's goal being to secure a favorable outcome on home turf.

On February 3, 1916, in Sydney, Australasia, peace talks between the Netherlands and Australasia officially commenced. Participants included the Dutch Foreign Minister Victor, Ambassador to Australasia Raynor, and a series of government officials.

Australasia also sent its Foreign Secretary Darren, Defense Secretary Raul, and a luxurious lineup of officials.

At this point, the entire Dutch East Indies had been occupied by Australasia, so how to divide the land became this negotiation's main issue.

Foreign Secretary Darren first put forward Australasia's demands: using the Sulawesi Sea, Wangjiaxi Strait, and Bali Sea as demarcation lines, the Dutch East Indies would be divided into two regions—north and south.

The western regions of Sumatra Island, Java Island, and Kalimantan Island would be managed by the Dutch East Indies, while the eastern regions of New Guinea Island, Sulawesi Island, and their affiliated archipelagos to be ruled by Australasia.

In addition, Australasia also demanded Bali Island, the Connorian Islands, and all islands between Sumatra and Kalimantan. Your next chapter is on

These islands would bring Australasia closer to the Strait of Malacca and serve as a wedge into the Dutch East Indies, using the Java Sea between Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java Islands to control the entire Dutch East Indies.

Looking at the map, these three islands are triangularly distributed, with the Java Sea and many other islands positioned in the middle.

If Australasia could control the entire Java Sea through these islands, it would effectively control the traffic between the three islands of the Dutch East Indies.

In fact, it was the cautious decision of the Australasian government to retain the three core territories—Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java—for the Dutch East Indies. These islands, with a combined population of nearly 30 million indigenous people, would bring some solace to the Dutch government amidst their unfortunate circumstances.

Meanwhile, the reduced scope of Dutch East Indies territory would enable the Dutch to better control these three islands and create greater value for the Netherlands.

Australasia would be able to expand its influence further through the newly acquired territories, gaining control over the whole of New Guinea and Sulawesi Islands.

Including the affiliated islands, most of the lands were suitable for habitation, had abundant water resources, and held strategic importance.

Moreover, the total indigenous population of the occupied lands was only around ten million, making their utilization or expulsion not too troublesome.

In addition to territorial demands, Australasia also demanded at least £100 million in compensation and a treaty for the Dutch East Indies to open its ports for Australasian use.

Although not intending to annex all of these territories at once, it was necessary for Australasia to expand its sphere of influence to the Southeast Asian region and the Malacca Strait to consolidate control of the Dutch East Indies.

The importance of the Malacca Strait needs no elaboration. It's a crucial link for East Asia and South Asia, and even Europe's route to East Asia.

In the later generations, when transporting oil resources from the Persian Gulf to East Asia, the Malacca Strait is usually the chosen route.

Therefore, the Malacca Strait is known as the East Asia Oil Valve and the lifeline of East Asia's maritime trade.

This strait is the shortest passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean and an essential route for East Asia to travel to Europe.

However, Britain, who also attached great importance to the Malacca Strait, had specially established the Strait Colony to manage these ports and neighboring colonies.

To obtain the Strait Colony, one must wait for a moment of extreme crisis in the British Empire.

The current situation indicates that the opportunity to seize the Strait Colony is not now but should be awaited a few decades later, during World War II.

However, it was still necessary to make preparations in advance while also expanding Australasia's sphere of influence and blocking the island nation's resource channels.

It's important to note that the island nation was a country severely lacking resources. Despite having a large population exceeding some powerful nations, the country had limited territory, which consisted of numerous islands, resulting in scarce mineral resources.

Whether it was various types of mineral resources or the increasingly important petroleum, most of the island nation's needs were met through imports, even from East Asia or overseas regions.

If Australasia could control the Malacca Strait, it would be able to cut off the island nation's resource trade with Europe or other regions when the time came to have a falling out with the island nation.

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