Dutch May Suggest Alliance In Pacific.

New York Times 100 years ago today, October 27, 1912:
But Negotiations with America Will Wait at Least Until Fleet Committee Reports.
MATTER OF JOINT DEFENSE
Japanese or Chinese Attack on Dutch Colonies, It Is Argued, Would Affect the Philippines.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    THE HAGUE, Oct. 26.— The Berlin Tilgliche Rundschau announced a few days ago that the Governments of the Netherlands and the United States had signed a defensive convention to protect the East Indian isles and the Philippines against eventual attack by Japan.
    Later the Paris Temps stated that this news was premature, but that, AS a matter of fact, negotiations had been proceeding for some time between The Hague and Washington, but that no convention or official act concerning the subject had been signed.
    From information obtained from trustworthy quarters The New York Times corespondent is able to state that there is no question at present of any convention with the United States for the defense of Holland's colonies.
    The whole matter lies in a nutshell. A few months ago a state committee was appointed to consider the best methods of reorganizing the Dutch fleet. This committee will probably advise a division of the Dutch Navy into two parts, one simply as a defensive force at home, the other for the protection of the Dutch East Indies,
    It seems that during the deliberations of the committee the possibility and advantage of an understanding with the United States for colonial defense were brought forward, but there has been no step taken in this direction. This would, indeed, have been absurd. so long as the committee was deliberating and had not come to any definite conclusion.
    The Government has thus far received not even a provisional report from the committee, and negotiations with any other country are excluded under the circumstances.
    One of the most influential Dutch papers, the New Gazette of The Hague, published yesterday a remarkable leader on the subject.
    The paper admitted the possibility of an armed conflict in the near future, with one of the States in the Far East, and in view of such danger urged the establishment of a well-equipped fleet in the Dutch Indian colonies. Co-operation with another strong power, which also has large interests to defend in East Indian waters, was recognized by The Hague paper as a most important step, and no doubt the United States was regarded as in that case the most desirable partner. The Philippines, lying between the Dutch Indian archipelago and two Oriental powers, Japan and China, would be seriously affected if an invasion on a large scale was made from China or Japan into the Dutch Indian colonies.
    Reasons of national policy and of material interest, it is held, should weigh with America to prevent any extension of territory by Japan or the Chinese Republic.
    Thus a maritime defensive convention between Holland and the United States is regarded here as a future possibility, and it would not astonish anybody if the proposals of the fleet organization committee should reckon with that event, so that measures to strengthen the colonial fleet might take such a direction as to make the Dutch Indian Navy useful for combined action with the American fleet.
    But whatever the future may bring forth, no negotiations are to be expected from the Dutch Government with the United States before the work of the state committee for fleet reorganization is concluded and its plans have been discussed by the Government.