750.94/182
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Minister of the Netherlands called to see me this morning at his request. The Minister stated that he desired to speak to me about the Far Eastern situation. He said that he had just received a visit from a Dutch official who had just returned from the Netherlands East Indies. The latter had told the Minister that while public opinion in general in the Netherlands East Indies seemed to be crystallizing rapidly towards the undertaking by the Netherlands East Indies of joint defense measures with the British and Australians in the event of any aggression on the part of Japan against any one of the parties, the Governor General of the Netherlands East Indies was sending word that the policy which he intended to pursue was as follows. In the negotiations on oil between the Netherlands authorities and the Japanese mission, the latter had expressed the belief that the Dutch were acting under pressure of the British and American Governments. To this the Governor General had replied that that assertion was completely untrue inasmuch as the Netherlands East Indies Government had a completely free hand in the matter. The Governor General had then said that he for his part would like to know under what pressure the Japanese were acting since it was public knowledge that they were partners in the Axis Pact and he would like to be informed just what pressure Germany or Italy had brought to bear on Japan. The Governor General’s attitude had apparently created consternation on the part of the Japanese and, in the opinion of the Governor General, had contributed to the conclusion of the negotiations without further detriment to the Netherlands East Indies. The Governor General said that consequently he would object to any steps being taken by the British, Australian or United States Governments which could give rise to further claims on the part of the Japanese that some secret understanding [Page 231] or pact existed between the Netherlands East Indies and those Governments. For that reason the Governor General would not agree to the sending to the Netherlands East Indies of American naval observers, nor would he agree to any discussion on the subject of possible naval bases in the Netherlands East Indies. His policy in that regard he said was based solely on the fact that he had been unable to obtain any commitment of any character from the British or Australian Government that they would assist the Netherlands East Indies in the event that Japan attacked. If such commitments were obtained and there was evidence of sufficient force in existence behind the pacts to bear them up, he would be willing to consider the immediate adoption of another policy.
The Minister told me that he had already been advised by his Naval Attaché that certain additional naval and air forces were being sent to the Philippines and he felt confident that this would greatly encourage the Governor General of the Netherlands East Indies.