On 31 March 1945, the French Chief of National Defence Staff issues an intelligence briefing on the policy pursued by the Dutch Government in the Netherlands East Indies, particularly focusing on the plans for post-war constitutional reform.

On 24 August 1945, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ernest Bevin, sends a letter to the Netherlands Ambassador to London, Jonkheer E. Michiels van Verduynen, in which he asks the Netherlands Government to approve a memorandum on the principles that will govern questions of civil administration and jurisdiction in the liberated territories of the Netherlands Indies.

Sukarno was the first President of the Republic of Indonesia (1945–1967), whose independence he proclaimed on on 17 August 1945 with Mohammad Hatta, the first Vice President.

Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia on 17 August 1945 with Sukarno and became the country’s first Vice President (1945–1956).

In a declaration on 6 November 1945, the acting Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, Hubertus Johannes van Mook, proposes a programme intended to establish the future status of Indonesia.

On 13 November 1945, Hubert Guérin, French Ambassador to the Netherlands, sends a letter to Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, in which he analyses the declaration made on 6 November by Hubertus Johannes van Mook, acting Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, on the policy pursued by the Netherlands in Indonesia. Hubert Guérin describes the various reactions to the declaration and outlines the main points of the programme intended to establish the future status of Indonesia.

On 16 November 1945, John Cecil Sterndale Bennett from the British Foreign Office informs J. B. Sidebotham from the Colonial Office about British policy in the Netherlands East Indies and Indochina. He emphasises that the government does not wish to be involved in the administration or political affairs of non-British territories and that the aim is to withdraw British troops from these regions as soon as possible.

In a telegram dated 17 November 1945 and sent to George Henry Hall, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, the President of the Ceylon National Congress, George Edmund de Silva, condemns the British Government’s attempts to suppress the freedom movements in Indonesia.

On 19 November 1945, following the adoption of a motion in the State Council of Ceylon stating the admiration of the people of Ceylon for the bold fight being waged by the people of Indonesia and Indochina against Dutch and French imperialism, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, George Henry Hall, sends a telegram to the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore, in which he analyses the position that the British Government should adopt concerning the recent events in Indonesia. He deplores the violence of the nationalist movements and notes the promise made by the Queen of the Netherlands in 1942 to grant more autonomy to the Dutch colonies. He also emphasises that the United Kingdom, while it supports its Dutch allies, does not wish to be involved in the administrative and political affairs of non-British territories and plans to withdraw its forces from Indonesia as soon as possible.

In a telegram dated 21 November 1945 and sent to the British Chiefs of Staff, the British Admiral Louis Mountbatten analyses the situation in Indonesia. He particularly comments on the Japanese surrender, Indonesia’s declaration of independence on 17 August 1945 and the clashes between the Indonesian republican forces, the Japanese troops and the Dutch and allied forces. Lord Mountbatten describes his mission, which is mainly to liberate allied prisoners of war and to disarm and repatriate the Japanese forces.

On 21 November 1945, the British Admiral Louis Mountbatten sends the British Chiefs of Staff a telegram in which he asks for details on the British Government’s position in Indonesia. In addition to their mission to release allied prisoners of war and to disarm and repatriate the Japanese armed forces, Lord Mountbatten asks whether the British forces should also be intervening in political matters with a view to restoring Dutch power in Indonesia.

On 7 December 1945, the British Governor in Ceylon, Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore, informs the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, George Henry Hall, of the discussions over the motion in the State Council concerning the admiration of the people of Ceylon for the bold fight that the people of Indonesia and Indochina are putting up against Dutch and French imperialism.

In a telegram dated 24 January 1946, the British Foreign Secretary informs Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, United Kingdom Special Envoy to Indonesia, of his new mission, which particularly involves examining the possibilities for an agreement between the people of Indonesia and the Netherlands Government.

At a meeting on 1 February 1946, the leaders of the South East Asia Command (SEAC) discuss the problem of Dutch refugees in Indonesia who are supposed to be evacuated by British troops.

On 25 February 1946, the Dutch Embassy in Paris sends the French Foreign Ministry the English text of the official statement containing the proposals by the Netherlands Government on the Indonesian question. The text provides for the formation of a Commonwealth of Indonesia, which would be composed of territories which varying degrees of autonomy.

In a letter dated 12 February 1946, the Head of Mission at the French Embassy in The Hague, Renaud Sivan, informs the French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault of the text published on 10 February on behalf of the Netherlands Government providing for a new status for the Netherlands Indies and the other Dutch colonies. In this text, the acting Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, Hubertus Johannes van Mook, proposes a democratic association between the Netherlands and a Commonwealth of Indonesia, in which the Republic of Indonesia would form a state which it would administrate, while the other territories of the archipelago would be free to choose their political future.

These minutes of the meeting of the United Kingdom Government — held on 28 March 1946 at 10 Downing Street following the reaction in the Netherlands to the announcement by the United Kingdom to withdraw its forces from Java — outline the future policy of the British Government in the Netherlands East Indies. Those attending the meeting included Clement Attlee, British Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Ernest Bevin, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke, Vice Admiral Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor and Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Arthur William Tedder.

On 16 October 1946, the French General Consul in Batavia, Étienne Raux, informs French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault of the signing of a truce on 14 October between the Dutch, Indonesian and British forces.

On 22 November 1946, British Lieutenant General Montagu Stopford, Commander-in-Chief of the South East Asia Command, sends a note to the Chiefs of Staff in which he outlines the development of the situation in the Netherlands East Indies between 1945 and 1946. He particularly focuses on the role and commitments of British forces in the region.

In a telegram dated 29 November 1946, the French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jean Rivière, analyses the Linggadjati Agreement, concluded on 15 November between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia. In the Netherlands, this first major diplomatic agreement results in deep political unrest; the parliamentary opposition, especially the conservatives, are particularly forthright in their criticism.

On 17 March 1947, the French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jean Rivière, sends a letter to the French Foreign Minister, Georges Bidault, in which he informs him that the Arab states are keen to recognise the Indonesian Republic as an independent state.

In a telegram dated 27 March 1947, the French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jean Rivière, analyses the reactions in the Netherlands to the Linggadjati Agreement between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia, which was initialled on 15 November 1946 and signed on 25 March 1947. The parliamentary opposition and even some members of the coalition are harshly critical of the agreement and accuse the Netherlands Government of abandoning the position it had pledged to uphold.

On 14 June 1947, Jean Rivière, French Ambassador to The Hague, sends a telegram to Marius Moutet, Minister for Overseas France, in which he outlines the United States’ plans on the Indonesian issue. In order to avoid a resumption of military operations, the US Administration could intervene as a mediator.

In this interview, Edmund Wellenstein, former Field Secretary in the United States for the World Student Service Fund, describes the attitude of the general public in the United States regarding the decolonisation of the Dutch East Indies after 1945.

On 22 June 1947, the French General Consul in Batavia, Étienne Raux, informs the French Foreign Minister, Georges Bidault, about the situation in Indonesia. He particularly focuses on the response of Indonesian leaders to the memorandum sent on 27 May by the acting Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, Hubertus Johannes van Mook, to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Sutan Sjahrir. Even though the Indonesians have made major concessions, for example accepting the establishment of an interim government, the Dutch are not satisfied with the Indonesian reaction.

On 21 July 1947, the French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jean Rivière, summarises the explanations given by the Dutch Government to justify the Dutch army’s intervention in Indonesia.

On 13 November 1947, the British Consul-General in Batavia, Francis M. Shepherd, sends some notes on the political situation in the Dutch East Indies to the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin. He particularly mentions the creation by the United Nations Security Council of a Committee of Good Offices, which is set up to guide the future negotiations between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia.

On 9 January 1948, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Arthur Creech Jones, reports on the negotiations between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia. He particularly mentions the message sent on 26 December 1957 by the Committee of Good Offices to the two opposing parties, which proposed a ceasefire taking the ‘Van Mook line’ as a demarcation line.

On 18 January 1948, the day after the signing of the Renville Agreement, the French General Consul in Batavia, Étienne Raux, describes the signing ceremony. The agreement, signed on the foredeck of the USS Renville, an American warship moored in the Bay of Jakarta, between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia and under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, establishes a ceasefire along the ‘Van Mook line’.

On 15 January 1948, as negotiations are held between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia, the French Ambassador to The Hague, Jean Rivière, reviews the policy pursued by the Dutch in Indonesia.

On 23 February 1948, Jan Willem Meijer Ranneft, one of the leaders of the National Committee for the Maintenance of Unity of the Kingdom (Comité tot Handhaving van de Rijkseenheid), publishes a report in which he strongly criticises the policy pursued by the Dutch Government in Indonesia.

In a despatch dated 25 May 1948, the French General Consul in Batavia, Étienne Raux, informs French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault that the General Government of the Netherlands East Indies has invited the 13 political units that have already been set up (states and autonomous areas) to a conference in Bandung to discuss the establishment of the United States of Indonesia and the structure of the Dutch–Indonesian Union.

On 17 June 1948, the British Consul-General in Batavia, Francis M. Shepherd, sends the British Foreign Office a telegram in which he outlines the principles of the Dubois-Critchley proposals, put forward by the American and Australian members of the Committee of Good Offices to break the deadlock in the talks between the Netherlands and the Indonesian Republic.

On 31 January 1949, Archibald Edward Nye, High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in India, sends Philip John Noel-Baker, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, a despatch in which he outlines the conclusions of the Asian Conference on Indonesia, which took place from 20 to 23 January in New Delhi. The conference particularly called for an end to the Dutch police action in Indonesia and requested the intervention of the United Nations Security Council to stop the violence. Archibald Edward Nye emphasises the leading role of India in providing diplomatic support to the anti-colonial cause and advises the British Government to reflect carefully on its future policy in Asia.

In a telegram to the Commonwealth Relations Office on 31 January 1949, Archibald Edward Nye, High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in India, outlines the conclusions of the Asian Conference on Indonesia, which took place from 20 to 23 January in New Delhi. He considers the conference to be one of the most important events in the post-war period and believes that it demonstrates the emergence of Asian unity. In view of Asia’s new position in the world, Archibald Edward Nye advises the colonial powers to review their policies.

Following the Roem–Van Roijen Agreement of 7 May 1949 between the Netherlands and Indonesia, whose provisions include the return of Republican leaders to Yogyakarta to prepare for the transfer of sovereignty, the Government in Ceylon relaxes its policy with regard to the Dutch. In a telegram sent on 20 July 1949 to the Commonwealth Relations Office, Walter Hankinson, Acting UK High Commissioner in Ceylon, announces that the decision has been taken to lift the ban imposed on the entry into Ceylon harbours or airfields of Dutch ships and aircraft.

In a letter dated 16 December 1949, the British Consulate General in Batavia informs R. H. Scott, Head of the Foreign Office’s South East Asia Department, of the situation in Indonesia after the signing of the Round Table Conference Agreement on 2 November 1949, which provided for the transfer by the Netherlands of sovereignty of the former Dutch East Indies (excluding Netherlands New Guinea) to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia.