Chapter 469 Colonial State-Owned Enterprises

"Sir Norman!" The atmosphere in the entire conference room was suffocated. Everyone stood up and greeted Norman Brooke who walked in at the same time, as if they were ready to sacrifice themselves for the supreme authority. They were uniform and shocking.

Norman Brook nodded with an almost imperceptible amplitude, stretched out a finger to point to the seat next to him and said, "Alan is sitting here, gentlemen, please take a seat."

Norman Brooke sat down calmly, and Alan Wilson took small steps to reach Norman Brooke's left hand side. On his right side was Sir Ismay, the Permanent Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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"Ireland has announced its withdrawal from the Commonwealth. As expected, according to procedures and processes, London will recognize this decision within half a year. Things in Ireland have passed, but many things are still happening. Regarding the future of the British Empire, It is our unshirkable responsibility, not to mention that you are the dispatched commissioners. We must come up with a feasible method to deal with the current chaotic situation." Norman Brook finished his opening remarks word by word, and then said, "From the big picture In terms of the situation, we have to come to a conclusion on where the current threats to overseas territories come from, which territories are most vulnerable to instability, etc., so now the meeting will begin."

Sir Ismay then said, "The current overseas territories are concentrated in Africa and Asia. Africa is larger, and Malaya in Asia is more important. From an overall perspective, Malaya is more likely to face enemies... …or a threat from an ally.”

"I very much agree with what Sir Ismay said. Let me introduce the situation in Malaya." Gerald Edward immediately said, "Malaya is relatively calm at the moment. Since the war has not ended, Malaya has The main task of Malaya is to bring the population balance between the two major ethnic groups closer to avoid a repeat of the situation in British India. With the addition of new immigrants, judging from the comparison of the current ethnic groups in Malaya alone, the two major ethnic groups can be considered evenly matched, and their populations are very close. .”

Gerald Edward's words made Norman Brook and Ismay nod, and Alan Wilson asked, "If you look at it by static standards, this work can be said to have been completed, but if you take into account the surrounding situation, This is still not enough, has the population of Kalimantan been calculated?”

"This is not calculated. Of course, considering the factors in Java Island and Sumatra, the current situation cannot be said to be stable." Gerald Edward pondered for a moment and said, "Alan's reminder is very good."

"The country that can currently threaten its overseas territories is not a tank army on the surface, but a country whose tonnage is still higher than that of the Royal Navy. Malaya guards the golden waterways and has accumulated resources of its own, which is very important. "Norman Brooke frowned and said, "Be good at taking advantage of the surrounding situation, find ways to diplomatically introduce news in this regard."

"The Royal Netherlands Navy's aircraft carrier battleship formation base has been moved to Kalimantan. As for the most remote Dutch Guinea, the Netherlands has signed a mutual assistance treaty with Australia. The third party in this treaty is the United Kingdom, but we are in Secretly. Australia is very satisfied with this treaty. Canberra is eager to help the Netherlands consolidate its position in New Guinea." Gerald Edward immediately said, "The Netherlands is already prepared for Java to lose control and follow the example of India. The partition of Palestine, which involved cutting off Kalimantan and Dutch Guinea, was achieved with the cooperation of us and Australia."

"Before I came back, the Netherlands launched the second "police operation". Yogyakarta, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia, was occupied. Sukarno, Hatta and other Indonesian leaders were captured by the Dutch army. The territory and population under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Indonesia were greatly reduced. The Indonesian army once again retreated into the mountains, persisted in guerrilla warfare, and established guerrilla administrative areas across the country. All Dutch expatriates have been evacuated to Kalimantan."

"We can no longer delay, the United States has already begun to pay attention to the Dutch East Indies at the United Nations.

"Norman Brooke turned to Ismay and asked, "Is the news in Alexander's telegram true? "

Seeing Ismay nodding, Norman Brooke immediately said, "Telegram to Rotterdam and immediately declare partition in the Dutch East Indies. We will immediately join forces with Australia to declare recognition of partition. What do you think, Alan?"

Alan Wilson recalled the time when Indonesia appeared, probably when the gun gangs were about to kneel, and said, "Yes, once the Americans really put pressure, it will be too late what we are doing. Police actions are in vain. We must Terminate immediately, and evacuate the Belgian and Spanish troops to Kalimantan. With the help of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Royal Navy Pacific Fleet, we can withdraw quickly."

"As for the United Nations, let Alexander do some work and join forces with the French representatives to create some procedural obstacles." Norman Brooke said, "That's it. I'll go find the Prime Minister after the meeting."

"Gentlemen, as we just concluded, the current threat to overseas territories is that suspicious ally." Alan Wilson said slowly, "Once the Dutch East Indies collapse, Malaya will bear the brunt. Now we What I hope most is that the French can hold on in Vietnam for a little longer. I don’t know what the situation is like for France in Vietnam.”

"So far it's not bad!" As the chief executive of Malaya, Gerald Edward was well aware of the war in France.

"The French have little problem in dealing with the Vietnamese, but we have to consider extraterritorial factors. In the current Chinese civil war, the balance is moving in the direction of pro-Soviet forces. Once the Chinese game comes to an end, it is difficult to guarantee that the French can still be like they are now. It's so easy. If it doesn't work in Malaya, we will use the navy to threaten Java Island. Having said that, if there is a captain in the Pacific Fleet who is about to retire, we will take an action to support the Netherlands, such as bombarding Jakarta or something. It can also demonstrate the unity of the Brussels Treaty Organization.”

Alan Wilson spoke before a group of colonial commissioners, "Sometimes there's a moral cost."

Norman Brook calmly picked up a glass of water, his Adam's apple surging, "For the safety of British Malaya, of course we cannot let the Netherlands leave like this. France and the Netherlands are the protective layer of Malaya. This is There is no doubt about it, but bombarding Jakarta? Another way is to use bombers."

"Yes, Sir Norman!" all the colonial commissioners agreed in unison.

"Speaking of which, Indonesia has a similar environment to Malaya. In fact, the products have a lot of overlap. I personally suggest burning the rubber plantations, blowing up the power plants, and demolishing all the railways. Let the Netherlands use this as a condition to negotiate with Indonesia. The leaders of the independence movement negotiated terms so that they could buy time to evacuate. Once these are destroyed, the world's demand for these resources will still be there, and this will become an opportunity for British Malaya, won't it?"

"Very good!" Norman Brooke turned to Ismay and said, "I would like to meet the Dutch Ambassador by chance."

"After all, London is such a small place." Ismay said understandingly, "Fate is so wonderful."

"With the presence of the French and the Dutch, the situation in Malaya is actually much better than that of British India." Sir Barron said with great satisfaction, "The French are not in Vietnam like they were in French India." No, it’s a pity that British India did not have such an environment.”

Although Sir Barron was in the Persian Gulf, he still expressed concern for the place where he had lived and fought. In 1948, France and India reached an agreement, and the people of French India would vote to decide their future.

In fact, France has let go of French India, and the only remaining force in the subcontinent is Portugal, the weakest among the colonial powers.

"If we want Malaya to be stable, the most important thing is to make Malaya a powerful supplement to the mainland, rather than a simple colony. After solving the basic security issues, the next step is to consider development issues. From the aspect of science and technology, The British Empire is no worse than the United States and the Soviet Union, but our local population is insufficient and cannot be converted into national strength. We can't produce three times the goods per capita of the United States and the Soviet Union with our local population of 50 million, right?"

"If Malaya can assume the role of British India, we can say that we will not compromise with these two countries. Simply speaking, based on the remaining colonies currently in hand, it can still support the development of a colony."

"But the population of Malaya is not large, and there is no market as big as the subcontinent." Ismay frowned.

"Dear Sir Ismay, I am not talking about the market. We have a market. What we lack is a production base." Alan Wilson shook his head slightly and said, "We all know that the textile industry is the industry that can best solve the employment problem, but technology In terms of progress, the textile industry has no added value, and we cannot be on an equal footing with the United States and the Soviet Union by buying clothes. After two world wars, technology has greatly improved, new industries have emerged, and some backward industries should be relocated."

"The place to be moved must be reliable." Norman Brook frowned and said, "All the commissioners here can talk about whether you can support a production base."

Commissioners from the Gold Coast, Sudan, Togo, and Rhodesia all spoke out, asking whether the resources in their jurisdictions could support the transformation of Malaya into a production base.

"I have an idea, I don't know if it is appropriate. This is just my personal idea." Alan Wilson said sheepishly as he listened to the commissioners from all over the place speaking freely.

"If you have anything to say, you can say it at this meeting." Norman Brooke's words set the tone.

"Why can't we set up nationalized enterprises in the colonies?" Alan Wilson's eyes flickered, scanning the faces of each colonial commissioner, "Especially in mineral resources, the gentlemen who are doing it can also run businesses at the same time. managers.”