Kaiboer frowned, pretending to be conflicted, even though these territories East Africa wanted were not very important for the Netherlands.
But what worried him wasn't the land itself; what truly concerned him was East Africa's insatiability. As the old saying goes, today we cede five cities, tomorrow ten cities.
Now East Africa dares to covet these islands; who can assert that in the future East Africa won't set its sights on Java Island or Sumatra Island?
Of course, Kaiboer is well aware that the Netherlands simply cannot refuse or offend East Africa at present. No need for East Africa's mainland to act; the East African Navy from the Lanfang Overseas Province alone can easily change the flag across the entire Dutch East Indies.
Thus, Kaiboer hesitantly said, "Minister Frier, your country's demands truly put us in a difficult position!"
