ABSTRACT
The approach of the Netherlands to the problem in Indonesia, by far the biggest and the most important of the South East Asiatic countries, is different from any of these. In a proclamation of February 10, 1946, the Netherlands Government put formally on record its intention to assist the Indonesians towards nationhood and independence. It belongs to a group of similar problems in South East Asia concerning dependent or semi-dependent areas in transition to nationhood. The Indonesian problem is one out of many that were thrown up by the earthquakes and the eruptions of Second World War. Its solution was and is primarily the concern of the Netherlands and Indonesia themselves. The Netherlands are fully prepared to transfer this inheritance to the Indonesians, but they want to transfer it in workable condition and with some guarantees for its maintenance and further development.
