CANBERRA, 19 March 1947

CHERIBON AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

I have received word that the Dutch Government has at last
authorised the Netherlands Commission-General in the Indies to
sign the Cheribon Agreement. [1] Hitherto, the Dutch have insisted
that their interpretation of the agreement should be accepted by
the Indonesians. Without agreeing to be bound by this unilateral
Dutch interpretation, the Indonesians have been prepared to 'note'
its existence. I assume that the Dutch have accepted this new
position and that without further ado both Dutch and Indonesians
will sign the Cheribon Agreement. The Indonesians were ready to
sign last week but the recent occupation by the Dutch of
Modjokerto, outside Sourabaya, is not calculated to win for them
the goodwill of the Indonesian people.

I am aware that both parties to the dispute in Indonesia have had
occasion to complain of alleged violations of the military truce
and of departures from the established perimeters. However, the
Dutch occupation of Modjokerto seems to me, whatever its
justification, to have been an extremely impolit[ic] act at this
stage of the negotiations for the acceptance of the Cheribon
Agreement.

This draft agreement, even if accepted, leaves many questions
unresolved. The Dutch and Indonesians are not the only parties
affected by the trouble in the Indies. The outside world desires
to trade with these islands but is at present prevented from doing
so by the effective blockade of Indonesian ports maintained by the
Dutch Navy. If the Dutch do not relax these measures of export
control, they may well find that other countries will have no
choice but to grant a measure of recognition to the Republic of
Indonesia and to frame their trading policies accordingly.