Van Mook arrived back in Java along with elements of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration. However, their presence generated much outrage from much of the Indonesian populace who were opposed to the restoration of Dutch colonial rule. with Dutch support being limited to Christian areas like Ambon and Manado, which were at that time (not before WWII) the chief sources of recruitment for the Royal Dutch East Indies Army., even though the majority of Royal Dutch East Indies Army soldiers had always been Javanese Muslims, the largest ethnic group in the colony. Republican forces had taken control of Manado by February 1946, before being subdued by allied forces, and many Christian Manado and Ambonesse supported the Republic, including chief representative for the UN, LN Palar, Leimena, AA Maramis. On the other hand, many leading Dutch supporters were from Muslim areas, including Sultan Hamid II, Andi Azis, R. Abdulkadir Wijoyoatmojo (later chief Dutch negotiator in the talks leading to the Renville Agreement). While van Mook planned to grant independence to Indonesia, he advocated a federal Republic of the United States of Indonesia with strong political and economic ties to the Netherlands. He regarded Sukarno's Republic as economically inept and unable to ward off the Indonesian Chinese, Indonesian Indians and the rising Indonesian Communist Party, and began cultivating links with Indonesian leaders outside Java, particularly in west Java and eastern Indonesia. He organised a number of conferences aimed at offsetting the influence of the Republic. The above factors and violations of the Linggadjati Agreement prompted the East Indies government to launch a police action in mid-1947, which was known as Operatie Product. The KNIL and Royal Netherlands Army occupied large areas of Java and Sumatra, with the Republican army offering only weak resistance. However, the Dutch were held back from full conquest of the Republic by pressure from the UN Security Council and the United States, which called for a ceasefire. This led to the announcement of a ceasefire in January 1948 followed by a formal armistice. As a consequence, a conflict previously considered to be an internal Dutch affair now took on an international dimension. The Renville Agreement, as the armistice was called, stipulated the withdrawal of Indonesian forces from Dutch-occupied territory and the establishment of a ceasefire boundary known as the Van Mook Line. Because of problems caused by the differing interests of regional leaders and opposition from elements of