After all, the Netherlands was the local landlord. All kinds of supplies from the East Indies—spices, minerals, and the like—were far more conveniently shipped back to the homeland through the Sunda Strait than through the Strait of Malacca.
After East Africa's rise, the situation changed further. With the development of East African industry and foreign trade, as well as the expansion of East Africa's colonies in the Nanyang region, East Africa placed ever greater importance on the Sunda Strait.
Freer continued, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister need only look at a map to see that the Sunda Strait is the most convenient maritime trade route linking East Africa with Nanyang, the Far East, and even the North Pacific region."
"Most cities along our eastern coast, especially the southern ports, find it more convenient to depart from the coast and pass through the Sunda Strait than through the Strait of Malacca."
"The reason our merchant ships currently choose the Strait of Malacca more often is that it is more stable, has better infrastructure, clearer and more comprehensive hydrographic conditions, more developed service industries, and the force of historical inertia, among other factors."
"Therefore, developing the Sunda Strait will be a long and meticulous process. If our two countries work together with one heart and one mind, the prosperity of the Sunda Strait route can rise by at least another level. That will benefit both the Empire and the Netherlands."
Prime Minister Keppel was indeed tempted by the grand vision Freer had laid before him. After all, the importance of controlling a world-class sea route went without saying.
If the Sunda Strait route developed, the greatest beneficiaries would clearly be the Dutch-controlled shores on both sides of the Sunda Strait.
The Sunda Strait had previously failed to develop precisely because of its