The Journal of Military History

Abstract

This article examines the Royal Netherlands Navy’s (Koninklijke Marine, KM) use of Indonesian personnel. It considers why and how the KM employed indigenous personnel and how this usage impacted the KM’s effectiveness as a military service. The article argues that the decision to use Indonesian personnel in naval forces in the Netherlands East Indies resulted in a peacetime advantage in terms of numbers of sailors on duty but ultimately a disadvantage in times of crisis when Indonesian sailors acted against the interests of the Netherlands state.

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Cite this article

Mark C. Jones, “Double-Edged Sword: Indonesian Personnel in the Royal Netherlands Navy,” The Journal of Military History 88, no. 3 (July 2024): 714–740.

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