In the southern part of the East Indies, there are still indigenous forces like the Minangkabau States and Maguindanao. Meanwhile, across the sea from the East Indies, Spain has already infiltrated the Sulu Sultanate in Borneo.
However, owing to the continuous decline of Spain and frequent domestic issues, the colonial advance into the Sulu Sultanate was not accelerated.
This eventually led to the Sulu Sultanate, along with the indigenous people of the Brunei Empire and Sarawak Kingdom, being annexed by the British, turning into the British North Kalimantan Colony.
The European nations have an understanding regarding colonization; generally, the first country to arrive and establish some colonial base can claim that area as its own colony.
In most cases, countries maintain this understanding. However, for some particularly important colonies, competing nations do not yield; instead, they may provoke a colonial war due to competition.
