East Indies a European perspective), archaically called Hither India and Further India. The first is the former British India, the second is Southeast Asia. Regions of the East Indies are sometimes known by the colonial empire they once belonged to, hence, "British East Indies" refers to Malaysia, "Dutch East Indies" means Indonesia, and "Spanish East Indies" means the Philippines. Historically, the king of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) was identified with "Prester John of the Indies", since that part of the world was imagined to be one of "Three Indias". Exploration of these regions by European powers first began in the late 15th century
No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF its ground crew. Once formed No. 119 (NEI) Squadron was to operate alongside No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, which had been formed on the same basis in April 1942 and was flying operations against the Japanese from Australia's Northern Territory under RAAF command as part of the North Western Area Campaign. Personnel began to be assigned to the squadron from 1 September, though its commanding officer, Squadron Leader E.C. Rutter, was not appointed until the 16th of the month. By the end of September the squadron had a strength of 11 Netherlands East Indies officers and 14 other