At the same time the rulers of the SEA countries underestimated the European threat. Busy fighting each other and using the Portuguese soldiers of fortune they were powerless to unite in order to crush the Portuguese hold of Malacca. Therefore the XVI century was the period of balance between the countries of the SEA and the European colonialism. Only in the XVII century with: the British and Dutch fleets entering the region the decisive change in favour of the West took place and the new period in the history of the SEA has started.