Chapter 534 The dispute over ports in the Western Indian Ocean
“Since February this year, ships from the United Kingdom and other countries on the East African route have been recommended to dock at the Port of Natal or Maputo as much as possible. The government has cooperated with 11 large shipping companies in the world. Enterprise cooperation to deal with possible regional conflicts and ensure the property security of British and other countries’ citizens”
“The British Madim Construction Company plans to invest 120,000 pounds in the first phase of Maputo Port to improve Maputo. With the port's service level and port docking capacity for passing ships, Maputo is expected to become a first-class emerging port in Africa, replacing Dar es Salaam and Mombasa in the region, and building the most first-class world-class port in 'East Africa' Class seaport. "
At the end of 1879, Britain had shifted its attention to Afghanistan, but it did not forget to dig a hole in East Africa. It could not rely on it militarily, so it naturally wanted to make up for it economically.
It can be said without a doubt that the remaining 70% of the value of the eastern route in East Asia, excluding the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, is monopolized by the two ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, and the latest new The Port of Hamburg is also formulating a model of two open ports, and the infrastructure of the new Port of Hamburg is already comparable to that of Maputo and Natal, and has a tendency to surpass it.
Originally, the British wanted to recruit the French, because the French colony of Madagascar also had considerable influence in the Mozambique Strait.
But the French were not fooled. There is no direct conflict of interest between East Africa and France. As long as East Africa does not have ideas about Madagascar, then everyone has a basis for cooperation.
France has a record of aiding the United States and resisting the British, so it is good that the French did not provide support to East Africa. Of course, France cannot have a good relationship with East Africa. For one reason, East Africa is a German country. Germany is France's biggest enemy, and the relationship between East Africa and Germany is a major obstacle to East-French relations.
Of course, in the final analysis, it is still a matter of interest. France cannot gain anything in East Africa. Even if it acts as a thug for the British, in the end, the benefits will fall into the hands of the British. With this energy, it is better to make West Africa into France itself. "East Africa". The emergence of East Africa set a template for France, which is the West African version of France.
“There is a direct competitive relationship between the New Hamburg Port and Maputo and Natal, so in response to the British plan, we should focus on developing the geographical advantages of the New Hamburg Port and build it into Excellent ports in the southern African region, dividing the advantages of Maputo and Natal.”
Investing in colonies is actually a burden for many metropolitan countries, especially Maputo and Natal, two potentially loss-making projects.
There is no such concern in the construction of the New Hamburg Port in East Africa. After all, the South African region can take advantage of the New Hamburg Port to drive the development of East Africa in all aspects of the region, including population, industry, woolen textile industry, and mining industry. wait.
After all, it is East Africa and will be developed sooner or later, so early losses do not matter. In the end, the benefits to East Africa always outweigh the disadvantages.
“Although the British have said that they want to develop Maputo and Natal to differentiate the economic value of our East African ports, judging from the actual actions of the British, their main goal is to focus on supporting Maputo . ”
“Maputo should have the highest ceiling among South African ports, and its scale and natural conditions are superior to other ports, so this is why the UK supports Maputo. ”
"Another reason is that if the UK invests in Maputo, then Portugal, the sovereign state of Mozambique, will definitely follow up and invest, and can share part of the funds for building the port. Now the UK is focusing on Afghanistan, and other parts of the world also have to spend money, so and Portugal’s joint development of Maputo Port is the most cost-effective solution.”
“The British plan will indeed have a certain impact on our economy, but the construction of the port will take time, and it will take a short time. Maputo and Natal cannot pose a threat to the ports in East Africa.”
“The dominant positions of the ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa cannot be replaced by other ports. We are still confident in this. ”
The economic hinterland of Dar es Salaam Port and Mombasa is quite vast. Even the economic hinterland of the new Hamburg Port can reach the hinterland of the original Transvaal Republic, so Maputo and Na Once Thar was built, it would not be able to surpass East Africa. The main functions of the two ports of Maputo and Natal are to provide services to passing ships, but some ships are destined for Africa and require African resources and commodities. Maputo and Natal cannot compare with this. .
For example, animal leather, ivory, mineral resources, etc., East Africa has a large area and is easier to obtain. The cost is much lower than that of Britain and Portugal, and the East African railway system can transport these resources from the inland to the port areas of East Africa. .
This is the basis for East African ports to compete with foreign ports such as Maputo, and the construction level of East African ports such as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa is ten years ahead of Maputo and Natal. , without high investment, there is no possibility that Maputo will replace Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Another point is historical reasons. Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are evergreen trees on the western Indian Ocean route. They have been important port cities in Africa since ancient times. Only Mogadishu can compare with this. However, Mogadishu's environment is limited by the desert, so its development is far inferior to Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Many ships and sailors who have been traveling in the West Indian Ocean routes all year round are undoubtedly more familiar with Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. Although the development of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa has been changing with each passing day in recent years, it can be said that it is the same as more than ten years ago. Earth-shaking changes have taken place a few years ago, but this change is benign for passing ships. The service level has been improved, the port's hardware facilities have become more complete, and the types of goods are more complete and the volume is larger.
“We cannot allow the United Kingdom and Portugal to do such things that are harmful to others and not beneficial to themselves. Since they want to confront us, we should also show something. In the north, we have Mogadishu and Mongolia. There is the New Hamburg Port in the south of Barcelona and Dar es Salaam, and the Soko Port in the middle can also be opened to foreign ships. Now the railway from Soko to Lake Malawi has been completed, so it can take on some functions. " Ernst finally agreed.
Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been operating as open ports for more than ten years and have accumulated considerable experience. Therefore, the models of these two ports can also be applied to other ports in East Africa.
East Africa will be open in the future, and the establishment of two new ports, New Hamburg Port and Soko Port, is in line with this trend.
The meal must be eaten one bite at a time, the road must be walked step by step, and the rhythm must be grasped. The initiative from isolation to openness must also be in East Africa's own hands.
Instead of being forced to open the country's door by the British and other powers, in fact, if East Africa did not engage in a closed-door policy, the United Kingdom would not have such a big reaction to East Africa.
In fact, the United States and Germany followed similar paths to those in East Africa at the same time. The two countries were not free markets, but had high tariff barriers to deal with countries such as Britain and France.
However, the United States and Germany have already risen up, and the United Kingdom cannot suppress them, so it can only pinch the "soft persimmon" of East Africa first.
The real weak persimmons are actually countries like Brazil. If they open their doors to the outside world, East Africa will become a place where demons are at war like Brazil, and there is a risk of being controlled by foreign capital.
Under East Africa's closed policy, East Africa's various policies can be steadily advanced without interference from foreign forces. Under this protection, it may indeed be difficult for East Africa to compete with foreign countries when it opens up in the future, but it will not It will die suddenly, and as long as it does not die suddenly, East Africa has the possibility of becoming a world power.
(End of this chapter)