Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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Chapter 4 introduces the international obligations of the neutral state in time of
war. It also mentions the role played by the armed forces in preserving the regulations and
evaluates their most clearly identifiable task, namely the protection of territorial
sovereignty. Before turning to external breaches of territorial integrity and illustrating how
strict adherence to international law often had to give way to compromise, the chapter looks
at what part deterrence played in the maintenance of neutrality and in dissuading other
nations from invading. The chapter also addresses the fundamental contradiction involved
in assigning the military both the duty to defend the country and the duty to protect its
neutrality, at times mutually exclusive goals given that what was important for defence did
not necessarily correspond to what was best for the protection of non-belligerency. The
contradiction between defence and neutrality became more pronounced during the war as
the value of military deterrence decreased and the likelihood of the Netherlands becoming a
belligerent increased.
The requirement to intern foreign soldiers and their military equipment if they
strayed onto neutral soil, proved to be one of the most time-consuming and resource­
draining aspects of the military's responsibility to safeguard territorial integrity. Chapter 5
illustrates how easily the war situation could overtake the ability of the nation and nation's
anned forces to cope, namely by recounting the arrival of 30,000 Belgian and British
internees on Dutch soil in October 1914, along with nearly a million civilian refugees from
in and around the Belgian city of Antwerp. While the civilian refugees did not present a
neutrality responsibility as such, it placed severe strains on civilian and military resources.
The internment of foreign military personnel proved to be one of the least controversial of
neutrality responsibilities, and the Dutch government was able to capitalise on its role as
upholder of international law by initiating POW exchanges through the country, and acting
as a safe-haven for escaped POW s and deserters. Yet dealing with the foreigners removed
many Dutch troops from the borders and from other essential neutrality tasks, illustrating
how easily the anned forces overstretched their ability during the war years.
Economic neutrality was not a recognised responsibility of the Dutch anned forces,
except with regard to military contraband, as Chapter 6 describes. Given the emphasis
placed on economic warfare by the belligerents, however, the pressure on the Netherlands
to abide by rules and regulations that extended beyond contraband issues ensured that
military involvement in trade matters, especially in the policing of smuggling activities,