Chapter 235: Chapter 220: Sulu Pirate

Just the second day, the vast majority of the Australasian fleet set out, carrying well-trained soldiers for over a year, heading to the Dutch East Indies in the north of Australasia.

The destination includes many, almost half of the indigenous forces of the Dutch East Indies, including the Sultanate of Sulu, which is already half-controlled by the United States.

Australasia’s actions this time are huge, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also notified the Netherlands and Dutch East Indies in advance.

Because the situation is urgent, the Dutch response is not so important. Arthur believes that even if the Dutch are dissatisfied with Australasia’s actions, they will have to reluctantly agree.

The nearest “Western country” to the Dutch East Indies is now Australasia. If the Dutch and Australasia were to antagonize each other, whether the Dutch East Indies could be preserved would depend on the support attitude of the Powers towards the Netherlands.

But the problem is that not many Powers can influence Southeast Asia. Apart from the traditional Britain and France, the only ones with some influence are Germany and the United States.

Previously, the Netherlands had good relations with Britain and Germany, and the relations with France were not bad either.

But the problem is that Australasia also has a good relationship with Britain and Germany. If a conflict between the Netherlands and Australasia breaks out, Britain and Germany may choose to remain neutral.

Not to mention the marriage between Australasia and Russia, in Southeast Asia alone, the Netherlands may not necessarily be a match for Australasia.

Whether in terms of population or industrial scale, Australasia has already caught up with and surpassed the Netherlands.

At the moment, the Netherlands’ only advantage lies in being a European country and having the background of being a prosperous country in the early days.

However, the distance between Europe and Southeast Asia determines that the Dutch do not have much strength to play in Southeast Asia and are far inferior to the close combat capabilities of Australasia.

The first stop for the fleet was the Gowasu Sultanate, the strongest and most successful kingdom in Sulawesi, which also has considerable influence in the region.

The fleet went straight to the point, and under the protection of several warships, the transport ships slowly docked, and the army landed openly on the southern coast of Sulawesi.

This action directly caused panic among the Wangjaxi Tribe. The Dutch had landed like this before and then ruled the entire Sulawesi.

The Sultan quickly commanded the subordinates who could speak Dutch and English to step forward and understand the intentions of these European people who had landed.

Bang!

Before the translator could get close, Minister Kent, who was leading the team, directly gave them a show of force.

“Stay away, monkeys. Where is your chief? Tell him to get out. If you don’t obey, there is no need for your tribe to exist.” Minister Kent said in a mild tone, frightening all the natives.

The subordinate hurriedly pushed back, conveying Minister Kent’s words to the Sultan.

The arrogance and aggression of these Europeans caused the Sultan to panic somewhat, but for the sake of the lives of everyone behind him, he had no choice but to carefully step forward.

“I am …” The Sultan was just about to introduce himself cautiously, and was immediately interrupted by Minister Kent.

He pointed to the translator and said, “Tell your chief that I am not here to chat with him. A few days ago, some pirates robbed two Australasian merchant ships and captured more than ten Australasians. Ask your chief if he knows anything about it, it’s a matter of life and death for your tribe.”

The translator nodded quickly and then translated word by word to the Sultan of the tribe.

The Sultan racked his brains and finally shook his head, saying, “We really don’t know the whereabouts of the pirates. But the Wando people in the north may know. There have been many rumors about pirates there recently.”

Minister Kent believed that these natives, under the threat of guns, generally would not fabricate lies.

But before leaving, he still threatened a bit: “I hope you monkeys are telling the truth. If I find out it’s all fake, I promise to make all of your tribesmen disappear.”

For European colonizers, the lives of colonial natives are really not that important.

Even if Australasia wiped out a native tribe, the Kingdom of the Netherlands would definitely not say anything.

Over the next few days, such interrogations and threats took place in many Sultanate countries.

Almost all situations were like the Gowasu Sultanate, but one Sultan’s answer was clearly hesitating.

This is precisely the Wando people mentioned by the Gowasu Sultan at the time, that is, the Bolang Menggongduo Kingdom established by this indigenous Wando ethnic group.

Minister Kent noticed the slight hesitation in the king’s answers to his questions and ordered to show the king the consequences of angering the Australasians.

With a burst of gunshots and screams behind him, the king of the Bolang Menggongduo Kingdom finally understood his situation and hurriedly told the whole truth.

It turns out that as the Americans occupied the Philippines, they naturally began to plot against the islands and indigenous powers surrounding the Philippines.

Due to its proximity to the Philippines, the Sultanate of Sulu naturally became a tempting target for the Americans.

After taking over the Philippines, the Americans fought multiple wars but never completely occupied Moroland.

They ultimately had to resort to diplomacy, conducting political negotiations with the Muslims in the south of the Philippines, and successively signed the Jim-Bates Treaty with the Sultan of Moro and the Sultan of Maguindanao.

This treaty stipulates that Americans are not allowed to enter the south of the Philippines, and all matters in the south are governed autonomously by the Moro people.

However, this favorable situation did not last long. In 1903, with the proclamation of the Philippine Land Law by the American governor of the Philippines, unoccupied land in the south became illegal in the eyes of the Americans.

The new land law also stipulates that after Catholics in the north of the Philippines migrate to the south, the government allows them to occupy 16 hectares of land.

Meanwhile, Muslim families originally living in the south of the Philippines could have a maximum of eight hectares of land per household.

A year later, the Americans tore up the treaty reached with the Muslims, further squeezing the living space of the local Muslims.

As a large amount of land was occupied by the Americans and Catholics, many natives lost their livelihoods and had to resort to piracy as a quick way to make money.

However, with American warships patrolling the coastlines and islands around the Philippines, the Moro and Sulu people had to move west and south.

Many merchant ships carrying grain to East Asia during this famine enticed these newly-turned pirates.

And the Australasian merchant ships that frequented East Asia with minimal warship escorts became targets for these pirates.

It was not really the fault of the Australasian government. To the north of Australasia were the Dutch East Indies, and to the north of that were the colonies of the British Empire, France, and the United States.

After passing through these colonies, they would have already reached their destination without going through the more chaotic areas.

But who could have expected that the Philippine natives, under the oppression of the Americans, would once again choose the path of piracy and station their forces even further south and west?

These pirates just happened to block the route from Australasia to East Asia, so it is not surprising that their merchant ships were targeted.

Regardless, those daring to target Australasian merchant ships would inevitably make these damned pirates pay the price.

Of course, the primary task now is to find out the exact locations of these pirates, and then plan more detailed operations based on the topography of their hideouts.

As Minister Kent suspected, the pirates did indeed have some connection with this chieftain.

What the chieftain hadn’t expected was that these pirates would have the audacity to provoke the nearby Australasians, and that the Australasian response would be so swift, with warships and troops arriving at their doorstep within days.

Knowing that the only way for himself and his tribe to survive was to quickly confess everything, the chieftain made a great effort to reveal everything he knew.

At present, the pirates in Southeast Asia are mainly Moro and Sulu people from the Philippines, who are stationed on the islands west of the Bolang Menggongduo Kingdom and east of the Kutai Sultanate.

These pirates are divided into large and small gangs, with a total scale of several hundred people.

The largest of these is the pirate gang of the Sulu people, with more than 200 people, stationed on the largest island in the area.

It is very likely that the pirates who robbed the Australasian merchant ships were this largest pirate gang.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Minister Kent nodded his satisfaction and ordered the soldiers to kill all the natives.