FUSION OF FORCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26226, 9 August 1946, Page 5

FUSION OF FORCES

DUTCH AND INDONESIANS DISCUSSIONS PENDING THE HAGUE, (Rec. 0.15 a.m.) Aug. 8. The commander of the Dutch forces in the East Indies Lieutenant-general Simon Spoor, who is visiting the Netherlands for discussions on the proposed fusing of the Netherlands and Dutch East Indies armed forces, said at a press conference that it would take five years after the conclusion of an agreement with the Indonesians to clear up the “ bad elements.” The chief reasons for strengthening the Dutch forces in Indonesia were: First, restoration of law and order; secondly, replacement of the British troops; thirdly, protection of Chinese and Indonesians friendly towards the Dutch. General Spoor said that the “ war lord system ” still prevailed in the Indonesian forces, especially in Sumatra. The T.R.I. (Indonesian Defence Force) was, not a national army, but a conglomeration of groups. “We can certainly co-operate with the T.R.I. if it is purged and placed under a single command, but its tasks must be purely police work,” he said. General Spoor said that when Indonesia acquired its new status it would share a common defence scheme with Holland against foreign aggression. The British forces in Indonesia at present comprised one division in Java and one in Sumatra. There were six Dutch brigades in Java, with a force of 15,000 men in outlying areas. Another division, numbering 15,000 to 18,000, plus garrison troops, would be necessary to replace the British. General Spoor alleged that German U-boat personnel were acting as instructors for the Indonesian Fleet.