The Netherlands Indies Fleet Bill of 1914 (Dutch: Vlootwet or Indische vlootwet) was a prepared but never-submitted naval law that would have requested funds from the Staten-Generaal for the construction of a fleet for the defence of Netherlands Indies, its introduction blocked by the outbreak of the First World War and never subsequently resubmitted despite the war making colonial defence more urgent than ever.
Preparation and Non-Submission
A vlootwet had been prepared and would have been submitted to the Staten-Generaal in August 1914. The 1913 Throne Speech had first announced the government’s intention to request funds for a battleship. However, the outbreak of the First World War prevented the bill from being introduced. Critically, the bill was not submitted in 1915 or 1916 either, a failure that became a central grievance in the Defense of Netherlands Indies debate (1917). J. B. van Heutsz used the non-submission as evidence of government inaction, stating that “sedert 3½ jaar verloopen zijn en Nederlandsch-Indië weerloozer is dan ooit” (three and a half years have passed and Netherlands Indies is more defenceless than ever).
The Government’s Fleet Plan
As described in the Memorie van Antwoord, the government’s fleet plan called for 4 battleships (linieschepen), 5 cruisers, and 25 submarines with accessories, estimated at 275 million guilders in acquisition cost. The Minister of Marine favoured dreadnought-type battleships and maintained that with 300 million guilders available, the greatest naval strength and most security lay in this battleship-cruiser-submarine composition.
Van der Maaten’s Criticism
Van der Maaten, in his pamphlet of 1917, criticised the planned fleet as one that would be destroyed within weeks in the event of war, forcing the land army into exclusive defence of Java. He counter-argued that as long as funds were insufficient for a fleet capable of gaining naval supremacy, all money for the naval force should go to submarines of great power and range rather than battleships. This disagreement over fleet composition — battleships versus submarines — was one of the central technical disputes of the broader Defense of Netherlands Indies debate (1917).
Relationship to the Staatscommissie
The fleet bill was intended to implement the naval component of the recommendations of the Staatscommissie voor de Verdediging van Nederlandsch-Indië, which had issued its report in 1913. J. B. van Heutsz had declined to sit on the Staatscommissie and had authorised J. Van der Weyden to quote his devastating private judgment on its report, declaring that the proposed fleet “niet vechten zal” (will not fight) and the proposed army “niet vechten kan” (cannot fight).
Part of the Broader Defence Debate
The fleet question was inseparable from the broader defence debate that also involved the introduction of militia service (militieplicht), the role of the Buitenbezittingen, and the question of whether J. B. van Heutsz should be appointed buitengewoon Regeerings-Commissaris with unlimited powers. The non-submission of the fleet bill provided Van Heutsz with his most powerful political ammunition in the speeches of early 1917.
Significance
The failure to submit the fleet bill represented one of the most consequential missed opportunities in Dutch colonial defence policy. The gap between the government’s stated plans and its failure to act became the central rallying point for Van Heutsz’s campaign, while Van der Maaten’s alternative vision of a submarine-based navy offered a different path. The bill’s fate illustrated the paralyzing effect of the First World War on Dutch legislative action at precisely the moment when war made action most urgent.
See Also
- Defense of Netherlands Indies debate (1917)
- Staatscommissie voor de Verdediging van Nederlandsch-Indië
- Memorie van Antwoord
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Van der Maaten
- Van der Maaten’s pamphlet on Van Heutsz and the Defense of Netherlands Indies
- Van Heutsz’s Bond van Vrije Liberalen defense speech (13 January 1917)
- J. Van der Weyden
- Van der Weyden’s defense brochure
- Buitenbezittingen
Source
K. van der Maaten, Z. E. De Oud Gouverneur-Generaal J. B. van Heutsz en de Defensie van Nederlandsch-Indië (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1917).