Ministerial Despatch 12/1947 BATAVIA, 18 December 1947

SECRET

I have the honour to state that during the last week the main
points of interest regarding the Indonesian question and the talks
have been firstly the arrival of Mr. Paul Grey in Batavia on a
routine visit to Eastern countries. Mr. Grey is the Head Designate
of the British Far Eastern Section of the Foreign Office, and he
informed me that he was very worried with the present position in
Indonesia and that in his opinion the talks with the Committee of
Good Offices would probably be abortive and the British Government
was considering at the present time what line should be taken in
this event. Mr. Grey visited Djokjakarta and had talks with the
President and the Prime Minister of the Republic and although I
did not see him after this visit, I understand that he advised the
Republican authorities that they should be conservative in their
outlook on account of the present strength of the Dutch position.

2. On 17th December Dr. Beel, the Premier of Holland, arrived in
Batavia and will probably be followed by two other Cabinet
Ministers from Holland. I have not had the opportunity of meeting
Dr. Beel yet, but he has made it clear in press statements that
his visit is entirely apart from the present talks, as a special
delegation has been appointed for these negotiations, that his
visit concerns the general administration and future policy of the
Netherlands East Indies Government and the proposed Federation of
the United States of Indonesia.

3. Last night at a private function I was talking to Dr. van Mook,
who told me informally that he hoped Dr. Beel would be able to
visit Australia, but that it would be very difficult as his time
away from Holland was very limited. He did, however, inquire as to
the schedule of air services from Australia to America or Europe.

Dr. Beel is to return to Holland early in the new year, and in the
meantime is to visit the various established States in Indonesia.

I hope today to see Dr. Beel personally to convey your invitation
to visit Australia [1], but in any case he was made aware of it
last night through Mr. Schuurman of the Far Eastern Office. Mr.

Schuurman also informed me that he had already heard from the
Dutch Legation at Canberra regarding the proposed visit. An
inquiry from myself to Dr. van Mook regarding his health produced
the interesting comment that he 'would last out the lot of them'.

4. With the weight of people now in Batavia and the fairly good
atmosphere being displayed individually between the Indonesians
and the Dutch and the general desire for peace by individuals some
definite solution should be the outcome before very long, but I am
afraid that the solution will only be on Dutch lines unless
stronger directions emanate from the Security Council.

5. It seems obvious that the Dutch will not accept any cease fire
solution except their own; that is, they will not give up an inch
of ground, and require all Republican Forces still within their
territory to be removed. This is obviously unfair, and in the
meantime there is no doubt that mopping-up operations have
recently been greatly intensified. It appears, therefore, that the
talks on the cease fire will break down at an early date, but that
the Dutch will keep them going until they are ready to announce
their future plan for Indonesia, apparently with the concurrence
of the Premier and other Cabinet Members from Holland. It is
nearly certain their solution will be a Federal Government for the
United States of Indonesia, embracing those States already formed
and others they are pushing hard to form immediately, such as West
Java.

6. In connection with West Java, at the present time a conference
is being held at Bandoeng and the Dutch are 'all out' in their
efforts to form this new State at the earliest possible time.

However, they are meeting with a certain amount of opposition from
the delegates who, in press statements, say that the attempted
formation is being carried out in a very undemocratic manner.

7. The Dutch have manoeuvred themselves into a very favourable
position and the Republicans have been placed in a weakened
position. The future of the Republic in the United States of
Indonesia is not yet clear, but again it seems that they will be
required to co-operate peacefully, or even by force.

8. A further police action is considered by some people to be
imminent, but I do not think that the Dutch will resort to this
until their final plan is announced and the Republican Government
has been given the opportunity to co-operate. There does not seem
to be a great deal of worry regarding repercussions from the
Security Council as regards cease fire, stand fast or further
police action, as the Dutch are definitely of the opinion that the
Security Council's interference in the affairs of the Netherlands
is illegal, and to an extent are calling the Security Council's
bluff.

9. Another interesting recent development is that a team of
observers of the United Nations Committee of Good Offices has
proceeded to Madura to report on the situation there. However, no
reports are yet available as to the progress of the tour.

10. Results from the heavy work of the Committee of Three are
disappointing, but taking all the circumstances into consideration
it is difficult to anticipate much else. It may yet come to a
partitioning scheme to save the Republic and to avert further
military activities.