Chapter 3126
The Johor ambassador's expression was very ugly, because Schneider's narration was undoubtedly tearing open the old scars of Johor in public.
Haihan's armed fleet arrived at Xingdao at the end of 1633 and quickly established a fortress and port there. Although Sing Tao was just a deserted island with few people at that time, it still belonged to the territory of Johor. As a landowner, Johor would naturally not sit back and watch Haihan occupy the territory under his nose.
However, with Johor's military strength, it was really difficult to take back Sing Island. Several attempts were easily repelled by the Haihan army stationed at Sing Island.
At that time, the British, who were also interested in Star Island, immediately approached Johor and suggested jointly sending troops to attack the Haihan Army on Star Island. As a result, the two sides hit it off immediately, and in 1635 they sent troops from the Johor Strait to attack Star Island.
However, the war did not go as they expected. In just over twenty days of fighting, the coalition forces suffered thousands of casualties, but still failed to recapture Star Island. Instead, they were captured by the Haihan Army. Many important people in the military were killed, and armistice negotiations had to be launched.
As for the outcome of the negotiations, it was very clear in the "Sing Tao Treaty" that was later signed. Johor exchanged the ownership rights of Sing Tao and surrounding islands for the safe release of most of the prisoners of war and that Haihan would not retaliate in this regard. commitment.
After this battle, Haihan not only controlled the strategic location of Star Island, but also successfully frightened various countries in the surrounding areas, and they no longer dared to think anything wrong about this small Star Island.
It is worth mentioning that the Portuguese, who controlled the city of Malacca at that time, were also direct beneficiaries of this war.
If Haihan was defeated at Sing Tao, the British would enter Sing Tao and station themselves there. Not only would the Portuguese sea routes in and out of the Pacific be threatened, but even the city of Malacca would be under attack from Johor and the British. , and fell into a precarious situation.
However, this crisis was resolved invisible by Haihan, and allowed Portugal's influence in the Strait of Malacca to be extended for a long time - it was not until recently that Sing Tao sent troops to control the islands at the northern end of the Strait of Malacca. Something has changed.
The Johor ambassador jumped out and pointed out that the territory had been invaded by Haihan. This is indeed an objective fact, but Schneider has the official diplomatic documents signed that year as evidence that the two countries no longer have territorial disputes.
If one denies the validity of the "Sing Dao Treaty", it means denying the original armistice agreement as well, and one of the consequences of this is that the two countries will automatically return to a state of war.
Even if the Johor ambassador had a hundred objections to Schneider, he would not dare to respond at this time. Otherwise, if Haihan believed that the armistice agreement was invalid, wouldn't that give the other side a reason to start a war again? The pot was too heavy, and he couldn't even carry it.
Schneider didn't press forward. He stared at the Johor Ambassador and said, "I think you must have not thought about this issue clearly and only got involved in a moment of confusion. In fact, the problems listed in the petition do not exist between our two countries at all. Right? ”
The Johor ambassador hesitated for a while before finally nodding reluctantly and acknowledging Schneider's statement.
Schneider smiled slightly and immediately turned his gun and pointed it at the Siamese ambassador.
There is actually no experience of direct confrontation between Haihan and Siam on the battlefield, but the relationship between the two countries is very subtle. It is not considered hostile, but it is definitely not friendly. That's because Siam and Annan have a long history of war, and Annan has Haihan's support behind him, which makes Siam very passive on the battlefield. In the early years, Annan even handed over a considerable number of Siamese prisoners of war to Haihan in exchange for weapons and equipment. Almost all of these prisoners of war were later put into mines and various construction sites to be used as cheap slave labor. Only a handful of them were able to return to Siam safely.
In view of such a history, it is of course difficult for Siam to maintain a friendly attitude towards Haihan. It is just intimidated by Haihan's military strength. No matter how dissatisfied it is, the losses suffered in the past can only be swallowed.
But some time ago, in the name of exterminating pirates, Haihan directly sent troops to occupy the islands belonging to Siam in the northern part of the Strait of Malacca without saying hello to Siam. This once again made Siam very angry and considered this extremely serious. Provocative behavior.
Before today's meeting, the Siamese Embassy had already lodged a protest with Haihan, demanding that Haihan's army withdraw from the illegally occupied Phuket Island. However, this protest did not receive a positive response from Haihan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs only claimed that the anti-bandit operation was not over yet and that the withdrawal of troops would have to wait for the right time.
In fact, not only Phuket was occupied by Haihan's troops at that time, but also Langkawi and Penang, two islands belonging to the Kingdom of Kedah.
However, Kedah's national power is weak and surrounded by powerful countries. Even if it raises its voice, no one will pay attention to it, and no one dares to offend the powerful Haihan. Otherwise, once Haihan becomes angry, not only the two islands may be occupied, but the entire country of Kedah.
So even when Schneider asked envoys from various countries to raise their hands just now, the ambassador from Kedah hesitated for a long time and finally did not dare to take the initiative.
"Our country has always maintained good diplomatic relations with Siam. The dispute that Mr. Basong is referring to should refer to the island in Phang Nga Province in the south of your country, right?"
After receiving the other party's affirmative expression, Schneider continued: "As we all know, the northern waters of the Malacca Strait were very unstable last year. There were armed pirate groups plundering passing merchant ships there. I believe that the countries where you are present were also affected to some extent."
"In order to protect the safety of sea lanes, our country has sent troops to exterminate pirates. During this process, we have discovered several pirate lairs scattered on various islands. Of course, we must do our best to eradicate the evil and completely eradicate their foundations."
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"The anti-bandit operation on the island is still ongoing. In order to ensure that pirates will not resurgence, our country is indeed considering stationing troops there for a long time. However, this is all to maintain regional security and does not require financial donations from neighboring countries. , all costs will be borne by our country.”
"Our country does not expect anyone to be grateful, but for those who express clear opposition to this, we can't help but wonder what their motives are. After all, how come this group of pirates with thousands of people and an armed fleet is suddenly in that place? How they came out and obtained information about passing merchant ships remains to be investigated further.”
"I think the reason why this group of pirates are so rampant is probably because they have received asylum from certain countries, and they may even be the masterminds behind it!"
How could Siamese ambassador Basong tolerate Schneider's smear campaign? He quickly stated that Siam also hated pirates and would never condone the existence of pirates.
Schneider sneered: "Really? I don't know if this group of pirates is too smart, or the Siamese people are very lucky. Among the pirate robberies that can be verified so far, it seems that no Siamese ship has been attacked. Right? ”
(End of chapter)