Chapter 1086 Taking France as the Bottom Line
The details of the game with the British government will naturally be left to a professional team. It is impossible for Ernst to reach some kind of deal with the British based on his personal likes and dislikes, and things The reshaping of the Kwantung African economy and diplomatic circles must also be cautious.
Of course, British Ambassador Russell also thought so about this. Although he promised Ernst some general conditions, it was the London government that made the final decision, and he also had to prepare for the next negotiations. .
The two men, each with their own agenda, ended the meeting in a hurry. Ernst convened a meeting with government officials, while Russell had to go back and report to London.
……
In the conference room.
Ernst shared the details of his conversation with Russell with government officials.
"This time the British government does want to exchange some interests with us. What do you think of the British government's proposal?" Ernst asked.
Sweite was the first to speak: "The British demand is nothing more than to restrict the expansion of our navy. From this point of view, it can be seen that the UK is now facing huge pressure in the navy, but we certainly cannot restrict our country's naval expansion. The development of the navy, after all, when other countries in the world are engaged in naval competition, the final result of our going in the opposite direction will inevitably lead to our country being at a disadvantage in international competition."
Military power is the foundation of East Africa's independence, and East Africa. The navy has experienced a long period of suppression, and has formed a large gap between its scale and other world powers. It is now far behind Britain, the United States, Germany, and France. Even Japan, a small East Asian country in the eyes of the East African government, It also overwhelms East Africa in the navy, which is obviously not acceptable to East Africa.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy ranks even behind East Africa. The navy only has a scale of more than 200,000 tons, which is only about half that of East Africa and ranks seventh in the world. However, the Austro-Hungarian Navy is positioned as a regional navy. Can't even get out of the Ria Sea.
East Africa is not a small natural maritime country like the Austro-Hungarian Empire. East Africa has a long coastline and a vast territorial sea area that needs to be guarded by the navy. At the same time, East Africa’s external trade also relies on the sea, which is completely different from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Differently, although the foreign trade of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is very important, it is not too dependent on it, because the Austro-Hungarian Empire is located in the inland center of Europe. In the foreign trade of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Central and Eastern European market is the main market, followed by the Italian Peninsula and Ottoman Empire, all can be achieved by land.
Although East Africa is also bordered by many countries and colonies, the economic conditions of these countries and colonies are difficult to describe. The only ones worthy of East Africa's attention are the Abyssinian Empire and Egypt.
Although Egypt is large in size, it belongs to the British sphere of influence, and because the land passage is blocked by the Sahara Desert, trade between East Africa and Egypt is mainly completed through the Red Sea and Mediterranean routes.
In other words, if all the colonies and countries around East Africa are lumped together, the market size is less than 20 million, not to mention that those colonies are economically controlled by their mother countries.
As a result, the bulk of East Africa's foreign trade will be outside the African continent, and a powerful naval force will inevitably be needed to safeguard East Africa's interests.
In this regard, Ernst explained: "Building a powerful navy has always been an important goal for our country, and this naval force must be able to deter other countries. Of course, we do not have it in one step. Consider that in this case, there is room for flexibility in the size of our navy, and this flexibility is the result of our negotiations with the United Kingdom. "
The East African Navy does have a relatively large flexibility. Although Ernst and Russell had previously said that they had no intention of competing with the British Royal Navy for the world's number one position, assuming that the British Royal Navy has a total tonnage of two million. tons, the East African Navy is 1.99 million tons, and the British Royal Navy is still the number one in the world, but is this what the British want!
Of course, this is a bit exaggerated. There is certainly no country, including East Africa itself, that would think that East Africa would build a navy based on this idea, but whether they want to do so and whether they have the ability to do so are two different things. From an economic point of view, the United States and Germany can definitely do it. As the world's largest economic power, the United States can theoretically build a powerful naval force larger than the Royal Navy. Although Germany is not as economical as the United States, it The industrial strength is enough to support Germany in doing so.
Merk: "I think that if our navy wants to ensure our country's economic interests, its overall strength should at least reach the level of France. The total tonnage of the French navy is more than 800,000 tons, and the United States and Germany are almost at the same level, so 800,000 tons It is the bottom line of our country."
The current Navy Commander-in-Chief Bruce retorted: "It is far from enough. Eight hundred thousand tons is just the standard configuration of the current world naval power. It is embarrassing to say that it is not more than eight hundred thousand tons. The world's naval power, And 800,000 tons is far from the upper limit of the navies of the United States, Germany and France. These countries are actively expanding their armaments. In a few years, more than one country's navy in the world will exceed the million-ton level. Therefore, conservative estimates suggest that the goal of our navy is at least It should exceed one million tons.”
In the context of naval military competition, the current naval strength of various countries is far from reaching the upper limit. As a result, East Africa cannot use the current standards to measure the navies of other countries in the world. develop.
Bruce continued: "And East Africa, as a two-ocean country, actually has far more power than that. In addition to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, East Africa also has huge interests in the Pacific. Therefore, from a realistic perspective, our navy should have above the German and French navies, so the navy should The tonnage is far from enough, even if it reaches the level of France and Germany.”
In fact, Bruce underestimated France. When discussing world naval power, France definitely plays an important role, to some extent. Technically speaking, the French Navy is currently the largest executive force in the world's navy after the United Kingdom.
As the second colonial power in the world after the United Kingdom, the French Navy is responsible for areas after the United Kingdom, such as the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, South American waters, West African waters, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Far Eastern waters, the waters east of Madagascar, and the South Ocean. There are French colonies in the sea and even in India.
So based on France's actual needs, France should theoretically be equipped with the world's second most powerful navy, but this price cannot be afforded based on France's economic situation.
For example, Germany. Although Germany has acquired some overseas colonies in recent years, most of them can be ignored. Even though the area is considerable, most of them are located in the corners of the country that no one cares about. For example, Germany has Some colonies in the Pacific, to put it bluntly, Australia, a prison penal colony, can be easily managed.
As for Germany's High Seas Fleet, its scope of capabilities has always been compressed by the United Kingdom in the Baltic Sea. But if it just wants to play a role in the Baltic Sea, then Germany naturally does not need the High Seas Fleet, which is a weak weapon. exist.
However, relying on its strong industrial strength, Germany has built a navy that is more powerful than France and poses a huge threat to Britain. Therefore, its naval power does not simply consider the needs of its own navy.
Take the current East African economy as an example. East Africa’s economy ranks fourth in the world, behind the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. When discussing industrial strength, East Africa ranks third in the world after the United States and Germany. Comprehensive East Africa’s In terms of naval needs, economic conditions, and industrial capabilities, the size of the East African navy should be ranked second to fourth.
Sweite said: "So in terms of economy and demand, our country's navy should at least not be weaker than France in theory. The French navy should be used as a reference to formulate a basic strategy suitable for the development of our country's navy."
The reason why France is chosen as a reference is actually because the French navy can be regarded as the bottom line of the navy of the current world power.
(End of this chapter)