AHumanMadeMOFO
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Chapter 246: The Java War (2)
🕑 Added 2025-02-25 15:30:31 +0000 UTCYes, he actually did fly.
But as for the full details, only Austria and Blackwater International knew the whole story.
Australia, which served as a transit point, and the U.S., which coordinated the operation, had some idea of what happened.
Spain, which acted as a middleman, and Portugal, which leased the islands for the operation, not to mention the Dutch themselves, were completely in the dark.
The Dutch still had garrisons in several major cities in Sulawesi, but they only realized what was happening when Josh's troops, disguised as Dutch soldiers, arrived.
Even the US and Australia only knew that the troops had been airlifted in.
How was the heavy equipment transported? That remained a mystery.
All this led people to suspect that Josh's campaign in Java wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but had been planned for a long time.
But that didn't make sense.
The war between the Dutch and Java had just started last year.
How could Josh have planned this for so long?
...Wait a minute.
Josh is an American.
Blackwater International is an American corporation.
This army was fully equipped with active duty American weapons.
Even though the U.S. military rapidly modernized after the war—partly due to Josh's influence—constraints in production, funding, and logistics meant that many American overseas forces were still using late-WWII-era gear.
As a result, the Soviets, European nations, and even the Dutch all turned their suspicions toward the United States.
After all, from an international perspective, only the U.S. had the logistical capacity to transport such a massive force and arsenal to Java in such a short time.
The Dutch leadership, in particular, became increasingly suspicious of the Americans.
"Really, America? If you wanted Java, you could’ve just asked. It’s just a few islands—I wouldn’t have refused you. Was all this scheming really necessary?"
To make matters worse, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was right next door, but when the Dutch had previously asked for American help, they had been turned down.
"So this was your plan all along? You just didn't want to be called colonialists?"
But despite their complaints, the Dutch still actively cooperated with Blackwater International's mercenaries in Sulawesi.
The only party to protest openly was the Republic of Java itself, which took the issue to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
But Java's self-declared independence hadn't yet been internationally recognized, so it wasn't a member of the UN and had no right to attend the session.
But India, eager to assert itself as the dominant power in South Asia, and the Soviet Union, hoping to draw an independent Java into its sphere of influence, were more than happy to take up the cause.
They escalated the matter to the UN General Assembly and used it as a political weapon against the United States.
This was the moment when the U.S. finally realized that Josh's private operation was about to cause them a massive diplomatic headache.
The worst part?
There was no way to explain their way out of it.
Even if they told the truth, who would believe them?
Especially since Josh had privately signed a 30-year lease with the U.S. military for a port in Sulawesi just before the war began.
So unless Washington was willing to completely abandon its interests in the region and sever all ties with Josh, no one would ever believe their denials.
And given Josh’s influence in the U.S.—not to mention the tangible benefits America was already reaping—cutting ties with him was never going to happen.
So the newly crowned leader of the Western world, the United States, simply doubled down.
"Believe whatever you want."
With the U.S. taking this stance, most European nations, including Great Britain, remained silent on the matter.
The French representative seemed eager to speak up, but after receiving a death glare from the Dutch delegation, he wisely chose to stay quiet.
Despite their historical conflicts—including France once annexing the Netherlands—those days were long past.
By the 20th century, the two countries had largely been semi-allies.
For example, when France built the Maginot Line, the Netherlands, for its own security interests, provided significant support—ironically, one of the reasons Germany later decided to invade the "neutral" Netherlands.
After World War II, France and the Netherlands were also deeply intertwined economically.
And when it came to colonial matters in Asia, the British, French, and Dutch were all aligned.
Especially now, with the French bogged down in Vietnam, openly opposing the Dutch on this issue would be like shooting oneself in the foot.
So while the Western bloc remained silent, the Soviet-led faction and India refused to let the matter drop.
The UN General Assembly, aiming to maintain its "neutral" stance, issued a formal inquiry into Josh and Blackwater International.
Josh? He didn't even bother to acknowledge it.
Instead, he sent Aldo to represent Blackwater International.
Aldo met with the Soviet delegation and handed them a document.
The next day, during the UN hearing, the Soviet representatives abruptly changed their position.
They now classified Josh's actions in Java as a local armed conflict and stated that the UN General Assembly was not the appropriate venue for intervention.
The Soviet Camp countries were surprised by their leader's sudden change of position, but since the leader's word was final, they didn't care. After all, Java was a place in which they had little interest.
After the Soviet Leader's silence, the only ones still making noise in the UN were India and a few South Asian countries.
But in this era, no one really paid attention to them.
Aldo, who attended the hearing, quietly wrote down the names of these countries, planning to report them to Josh later.
There were only three; India, the Philippines, and Myanmar.
A few days later, relaxing in the sun on Sulawesi, Josh looked at the list and smiled happily.
"Boss, Sir Beel is here!" Vito approached and reported.
"What's he here for?" Josh put down the document in his hand and looked puzzled.
Sir Louis Beel, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies, was the highest military and political leader in the Java region for the Dutch.
Technically, his rank was slightly higher than Josh's as Governor of Sulawesi.
But that was only on paper. Josh had an army of over 100,000 men, so the Dutch didn't dare interfere with his decisions.
"If I had to guess, it's about our forced relocation of the native Sulawesi people," Vito shrugged.
"That makes sense. They were bound to come sooner or later. Let him in," Josh nodded.
Josh had moved the native Sulawesi people east to Nusa Tenggara, an area barely controlled by the Dutch and of little value to them.
At first, the Dutch didn't react much.
But over time, even if the relocated people couldn't return to Sulawesi because of Blackwater patrols, they would inevitably spread to other regions.
So Josh expected the Dutch to come knocking.
"Mr. Kahn, we need to have a serious discussion about your forced relocation of the native Sulawesi people," Beel said after a few polite greetings.
"Sir Beel, there is nothing to discuss. Sulawesi is my private territory, officially recognized by the government.
Besides, they were already citizens of the kingdom, so I'll just return them to the government. I don't see any problem with that," Josh replied calmly. (TL/N: in 1948, the Netherlands was a kingdom, officially known as The Kingdom of the Netherlands)
"But Mr. Kahn, this will greatly disrupt the rule of the kingdom. There may be many rebels among the people you're relocating, which means you're creating trouble for the kingdom!" Beel frowned, obviously not expecting Josh to be so stubborn.
"No, Sir Beel, on the contrary. I think my plan is perfect," Josh said. "Java is huge, making it difficult for the kingdom to maintain control. Military forces will be too scattered. But in reality, not every island is valuable. So why not push those rebels into the less valuable regions? As long as we block key sea routes with the navy, do you think those rebel natives can swim across the ocean? And if they want independence, let them have it!"
Josh's words stunned Beel.
Could you really do that?
"If you're interested, I suggest you look into the history of America's westward expansion, the forced relocation of Native Americans, and the reservation system," Josh continued. "Now, these records may be difficult to find, as they are not exactly public knowledge. But as a colleague, I can provide you with some relevant materials. I think you'll find them enlightening."
Josh had originally wanted to recommend that Beel and the Dutch leadership learn from how the Americans dealt with Native Americans.
But in this era, such records were classified in the U.S.
Since the Dutch had withdrawn from North America by the late 17th century, they weren’t familiar with or particularly concerned about American history.
In later years, clearer records of these events only surfaced because of the civil rights movement and the efforts of researchers.
So instead of just suggesting it, Josh decided to hand over some materials to help the Dutch understand the concept better.
Whether the Dutch followed through was up to them.
(A/N: The last two chapters set the stage for the next phase. The Indonesia-related content will be wrapped up in the next chapter, and a new storyline will begin. Also, the ruins mentioned earlier are an important plot point for a later stage. Please be patient.)
(End of chapter)
Comments
incognito viewer
The philippines got mentioned, kinda scared if they will get forced to go to war with our mc.
