Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 793 Dark clouds over the Strait of Malacca
On June 1880, 6, the European Times published an exclusive interview with American President Stephen Douglas.President Stephen said that the threat of war in the Western Pacific is very great and will have a catastrophic impact on the entire world. This is something no one wants to see.

Regarding trade with the Netherlands, President Stephen said that the United States is of course interested in trade with the Netherlands, but not in "stupid trade" with the Netherlands.

He said that the Netherlands is becoming more and more powerful in the Americas and its "invasion" capability is getting stronger and stronger. This is contrary to the "Monroe Doctrine" that the United States has always believed in and pursued to exclude external forces from intervening in the Americas. Therefore, as the United States, The current president of the United States, all his actions are to safeguard the independent peace of the United States and the Americas.

He also said that in the Pacific, the Netherlands controls many important routes, and all countries that pass through these routes controlled by the Netherlands need to report to the Netherlands. This allows the United States and the world to see the dangers of over-reliance on a single trading partner and political partner.

At present, the overall trade political strategy of the United States towards the Netherlands is completely clear. The United States wants to protect its key technical facilities and world-class innovative science and technology to be able to independently develop the system. Our country's politics needs to set independent goals, rather than being influenced by the Netherlands. influence, nor interference from the UK.

But at the same time, we also want to establish trade and political relations with the Netherlands. "This is not about breaking away from the Netherlands and decoupling the quasi-ally relationship between the two countries. I have not thought about it that way."

U.S. Vice President Andrews and President of the Senate publicly stated in a speech to the U.S. Congress that if the Netherlands continues to consolidate and expand its control over the Pacific, especially if the Netherlands attacks Japan's important trade markets and Pacific partners of the United States, it will be worse than the Netherlands. Defeating the British in Chile, and then stationing troops in Chile would be even more serious, and would be even more disastrous for America's international influence.

The vice president said that the world has seen conflicts in the region, such as the Dutch and British battles for Chile, and now the situation in Southeast Asia around the Strait of Malacca and the Kingdom of Siam, plus the conflict in the Koryo Peninsula in the north. The gathering of great powers on the sea is enough to plunge the world into turmoil.

However, the Netherlands' participation in the war on the Korean Peninsula, or the Netherlands' involvement in the Kingdom of Siam and triggering a war with Britain and France, would be even more unpredictable and disastrous. Therefore, this is something that must be avoided.

“And I want Melbourne to know that the Pacific Ocean is right next to the Dutch East Indies and the Australian continent. The Kingdom of Siam and the Dutch island of Sumatra are only separated by the Strait of Malacca, which is across the sea. Because of this, the whole world is paying attention. "

According to the Australian Times, Marquis Andrew Smith, the Speaker of the House of Lords (also known as the Senate) who is also the Lord Seal of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, spoke on a Dutch radio program about the more conservative views of the United States Vice President and Senate President Andrews on the Netherlands. Relationship Speculator responded: "I hope he's wrong but I think he might be right"

The Lord Privy Seal cannot be appointed by anyone but a close associate of the King of the Netherlands, so he represents the voice of William IV.

The Dutch speaker of the House of Lords and Lord of the Privy Seal, Lord Andrew Smith, publicly stated at the Melbourne Parliament on July 1880, 7 that he believed that the possibility of conflict between the Netherlands and Britain on the Pacific issue was very high.

Marquis Smith, who is also the director of the Military Committee of the Dutch Senate, believes that the cabinet government jointly formed by the Dutch Christian Party and the Socialist Party needs to be able to prevent the British from taking risks to destroy the interests of the Netherlands, especially Siam, the Netherlands' only ally in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is invading again. Not only Britain, but France should also be wary of taking military action against the Kingdom of Siam.

"But unlike the Vice President of the United States, I still firmly believe that if we take the right approach, we and the United Kingdom can avoid that conflict." Marquis Andrew Smith said that if the United Kingdom cannot avoid bloodshed without Rapidly expand colonies in Southeast Asia, support Japan in the north and weaken the Qing Dynasty, and allow Britain and France to invade further north in the south. "According to my judgment, they (Britain and France) will consider military control of the Malacca Strait and attack the Netherlands." This Far East maritime power launched a surprise attack. Therefore, in order to prevent unexpected events, we must be prepared for this."

Marquis Andrew Smith from the Christian Party also accused the government of President Stephen Douglas and Vice President Andrews of the United States, mocking the United States for always sucking blood from the Netherlands to develop its own high-tech enterprises and technologies. Now when the Netherlands is facing difficulties, it has It was like the clumsy performance of the allies who were advancing together and suddenly turned to withdraw their troops, showing the world the weak attitude shown by the United States. This can increase the maximum reference value for the former colonial power Britain to launch an invasion of the United States.

Obviously, this important figure in the Dutch conservative Christian Party has marked the United States as a huge backstabber.

At least the names Stephen Douglas and Andrews have been bracketed.

Seemingly influenced by the Dutch Lord Privy Seal, the Dutch Ministry of Defense dispatched a small fleet of two armored battleships from Jakarta on the night of July 7st to join the Malacca Strait patrol. Apparently, they were on guard against a sudden British attack. , the Dutch Ministry of Defense finally passed it.

And because of this, there are currently dark clouds on the Strait of Malacca, and a threat of impending war is coming.

On July 7, the British Governor in India and the 3st Marquess of Ripon, George Robinson, visited Singapore, the most important port in the British Malay Peninsula in the north-central part of the Strait of Malacca. However, the reason why he appeared there was Because he accompanied these two big figures on their visit there that day, one of whom was Crown Prince Edward of the United Kingdom, and the other was Crown Prince Louis of the Second French Empire. His arrival showed that France's assistance to the British Far East in its competition with the Netherlands was being implemented.

Crown Prince Louis and Crown Prince Edward held talks with colonial officials at Singapore Port that day to discuss the needs of the Malay Peninsula in terms of military and other political issues in the future. According to some diplomatic sources, Crown Prince Edward and Crown Prince Louis The visit is also intended to emphasize front-line support and intimidation of neighboring countries here, which is very important for the alliance between the two countries.

Crown Prince Louis announced his visit to the Malay Peninsula through telegrams in the French and European media. In particular, the photos of him meditating facing the Strait of Malacca jumped into the newspapers. This made the British favor the French prince a lot. This also After causing the defeat of the future French Empire, he fled to England and was warmly received by the British, but this is a story for another day.

His approach to the British platform in the Malacca Strait immediately escalated the relationship between Britain and France. Napoleon III had asked the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to have close contact with their British counterparts. Obviously, the helmsman of the French Empire wanted to rely on the British To fulfill some of his small "wishes", of course, the premise is that Britain knows how to repay its kindness.

When someone asked him whether he would fully support Britain against the Netherlands, he said ambiguously: "It's still too early to say anything, but everything is possible."

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently confirmed that France is preparing to welcome the visit of British Crown Prince Edward in South Vietnam.

(End of this chapter)