Competition Is Stability

While William and his group were selling off assets on a massive scale in London, Arthur was already laying out the government's next move in Australasia.

Australasia's domestic development was under the cabinet's control, so Arthur was fairly reassured. But the two younger brothers still needed further control. They had to be given a few more things to handle so they would unite more closely under Australasia's leadership.

The first was the newly established Sultanate of Kalimantan. Although it occupied only two-thirds of Borneo, it had been divided into eight ruling regions, along with another region nominally belonging to the Grand Sultanate. In reality, that region had been left as room for the eight sultanates to fight over.

Under the urging of the Australasian Government, the relocation of the natives proceeded fairly smoothly. Although there was no precise estimate of the total native population, more than two million natives had been moved to Borneo during this period. This pushed Borneo's total population past five million and gave the Grand Sultanate of Kalimantan a truly substantial foundation.

In reality, however, the eight native powers on Borneo were not nearly so stable. The first problem lay in the conflicts among the eight native powers themselves.

Although their territories had been clearly divided, it was utterly impossible for the sultans and leaders of those native powers to have no ambitions of their own.

However, the territories ruled by the eight native powers differed very little. Their land areas were basically equal, and their populations had also become fairly balanced under Australasia's Balance of Power policy.

Moreover, each of those native powers contained several different ethnic groups. The political climate within the Grand Sultanate of Kalimantan was therefore extremely chaotic, adding even more uncertainty to the coming election of the Grand Sultan.

The good