The Pittsburgh Press (August 1, 1941)
Background of news –
THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
By editorial research reports
Following the Japanese occupation of the French Indochina, the Netherlands East Indies government ordered oil and other supplies cut off from China. This Dutch island area is rich in natural resources and Japan long has eyed the territory enviously. It may be one of the objects of Japanese aggression.
The Netherlands East Indies make up the greater part of the island area, sometimes known as Oceania, between the mainland of Asia and Australia. Included are Sumatra, Java, most of Borneo, the larger island of Celebes, the western part of New Guinea. The islands stretch for over 3,000 miles, and their total population is about 70,000,000, about the same as that of Japan proper. Between the central section of the Netherlands East Indies and Japan lie the Philippines.
The islands were conquered during the 17th century by the Dutch East Indies Company, formed in 1602. The Company, really a sovereign power, ruled them until its dissolution in 1798.
The Netherlands East Indies were reported, as of Jan. 1, 1939, to have a professional army of about 37,000, with reserves of about the same strength. Most of the officers were Europeans, most of the privates were natives. The navy included two light cruisers, eight destroyers, and 14 submarines. There were 72 hydroplanes in the air force.
On April 15, 1940, before the Netherlands had become involved in the war, Japanese Foreign Minister Arita stated that no change should be made in the status quo of the Netherlands East Indies. There had been rumors that the United States or Great Britain would take measures to protect the islands temporarily. On April 17, Secretary of State Hull countered with a statement, considered aimed at Japan, upholding the status quo of the islands, and pointing out that this had been guaranteed by Japan in the Four-Power Treaty of 1921. Hull declared that any intervention in the islands would be “prejudicial to the cause of stability, peace and security” in the entire Pacific area.
Commercially, the Netherlands East Indies are especially valuable for their oil, tin and rubber. In recent years, the United States has obtained about 80% of its tin from British Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. Tin moves to market through smelters, where the ore is reduced to pig in the form of bars and blocks. The Netherlands East Indies has no important smelters, but furnishes much of the ore for the important smelters in British Malaya, at Singapore and Penang. If Japan were to occupy the islands, she might be able to get much needed foreign exchange from their tin and other resources.
In recent years, 25–30% of the imports of rubber into the United States have come from the Netherlands East Indies. On Aug. 15, 1940, the United States Tariff Commission reported that there seemed to be adequate supplies of rubber available for the United States there and in British Malaya; the important question was, how well the normal ship movements would be maintained. In the first quarter of 1940, 34% of American imports of rubber were carried in British ships, 30% in Dutch ships, and 24% in American ships.