African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1461 South Asian Three Countries Office

Whether a country can be independent in terms of resources determines its autonomy and status in international relations. For example, East Africa, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom are not controlled by others because of their large territories.

The situation is just the opposite for Japan and Germany. Even though their military strength is particularly outstanding, they are still rather constrained due to their resource shortcomings.

Once faced with sanctions and blockades from other countries, its current industrial scale will be difficult to maintain long-term operation, and it may even fall into social regression due to resource problems.

If Japan was blockaded by other countries, its situation might be even worse and it would be more dependent on external resources. This is one of the reasons why Chuichi Nagumo was eager to occupy the entire South Pacific and Australia.

Oda also supported Nanyun Chuichi's idea: "The future of the empire is not in the north, or even in the east. Only the south is the only way for the empire to become a world power."

"First, as you said before, the resources in Nanyang are not only abundant, but also complete, and can meet all the needs of the empire's industrial development."

"Secondly, the Southeast Asian countries and Australia are sparsely populated and less civilized, so it is much easier to conquer and assimilate them. Unfortunately, the simple minds of the army deer are simply incapable of understanding such a simple truth."

"Third, now all the countries in Southeast Asia are colonies of various countries, which makes it easier for the Empire to intervene in current affairs."

Regarding the third point, it has also been proven in the previous life that Japan's expansion into Southeast Asia not only did not encounter strong resistance, but instead received secret support from local forces in many countries.

After all, for the rulers of these countries, it doesn't matter who they serve as dogs. They are just lackeys supported by the Western powers, so they have no psychological burden to change their masters.

If it had not been for the support of the United States, Britain and the Far East Empire in the previous life, I am afraid that the entire South Seas would have surrendered long ago.

Therefore, if Japan really implements its national strategic direction according to the navy's ideas, it may really be possible to succeed.

However, there is a big difference between the Nanyang region today and in the past, that is the strong rise of East Africa in the region.

In this way, if Japan tries to dominate the South Pacific region, it will face two major potential enemies: East Africa and the United States. At the same time, although the strength of France and Britain has lagged behind in recent years, they are not people that Japan can easily provoke.

However, apart from these four countries, there is still much room for development in Southeast Asia, such as the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and the areas controlled by Siam.

……

end of 1927.

British, Indian Colonies, Darjeeling.

Darjeeling is located in the northeast of British India, adjacent to Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim. Historically, it was ruled by Nepal and Sikkim respectively. In the early 19th century, it was the territory of Sikkim.

But in the 19s, the British expanded their power here, and then in the mid-19th century, Darjeeling was completely occupied by the British.

Darjeeling tea is also one of the business cards of British India. In addition to the large and small summer resorts built by British elites and Indian princes and nobles, the most common thing here is various tea gardens.

In a private house in Darjeeling city.

"This Darjeeling black tea is of excellent quality in our country and has a unique flavor," said East African diplomat Charleson as he took a sip from the teacup.

It is no secret around the world that East Africans like to drink tea. Firstly, East Africa itself is influenced by the tea culture of the Far East. Secondly, there are many tea-producing areas in East Africa, which is one of the three largest tea producing areas in the world. Many excellent tea varieties have been cultivated in recent years. Thirdly, compared with other beverages, tea is more likely to be favored by the upper class in East Africa.

With the economic development of East Africa in recent years, even ordinary people's pursuit of quality of life has become higher and higher, which has also made tea culture popular in East Africa, especially the many requirements in the selection and brewing process of tea, which has led to a large number of "tea drinkers" in East Africa.

From the water used to brew tea, to the variety and quality of the tea itself, as well as tea sets, etc., all kinds of tricks are played out.

The director of the East Africa and South Asia Office, Trian, said: "Ambassador Charleson, as long as you like it, Darjeeling tea is one of the more popular teas in the market, so even in Darjeeling, its origin, its value is not low."

“In East Africa, only a few specific tea-producing areas can compare with Darjeeling. Of course, in terms of high-end tea, East Africa imports more from the Far Eastern Empire.”

East Africa itself has no shortage of tea, especially in terms of output. It has even surpassed India to become the world's second largest producing area. Through careful cultivation in recent decades, there is also no shortage of many excellent tea varieties.

However, in the high-end tea market, tea from the Far East Empire is particularly popular in East Africa.

The reason is very simple. As the world's largest industrial production area, the Far East Empire has a very profound cultural heritage. The high-quality tea varieties formed over thousands of years cannot be compared with India and East Africa.

Not only is the tea itself incomparable, but the cultural heritage behind it is almost non-existent in India and East Africa, which makes East African and Indian tea less culturally interesting.

After all, when meeting guests, tea as a beverage can obviously be a great way to spark conversation if you can tell relevant historical stories about it.

For example, some tea drinkers in East Africa are quite familiar with some teas from the Far East Empire and the historical stories behind them.

Finally, there is scarcity. The production of many high-quality tea varieties in the Far Eastern Empire is not high, and they are even in great demand in the country, making it difficult for them to flow abroad. The less available they are, the more attractive they are.

Moreover, many tea gardens in East Africa basically implement industrialized production processes. Once industrialization reaches a certain level, handmade tea becomes a high-end product. The current tea production model of the Far East Empire is mainly based on handmade tea, which caters to the preferences of the upper class and elites in East Africa.

As for ordinary people, most of them don’t have too many particularities, so it’s good enough to taste the native East African tea.

In the eyes of East Africans, Indian tea is considered to be a more "low-end" product. Although there is no difference in quality between it and East African tea, the local tea of ​​East Africa at least has the blessing of patriotism.

In the simple cognition of East Africans, it is impossible to admit that East African tea is not as good as Indian tea. After all, what is the status of India and what is the status of East Africa?
As for the Far Eastern Empire, although its international status is not high today, it is the birthplace of tea, and there are almost no problems with its production scale or variety.

Chalson said, "After drinking Darjeeling black tea, I really know that India also has good tea. However, compared with our country's high-end tea industry, it is just so-so. If you want to try something new, it is still acceptable." Trian said with a smile, "Ambassador Chalson is right. After all, Darjeeling should be considered one of the most suitable places in India to grow tea. For a tea-producing country like India, although it is not as good as our country and the Far East Empire as a whole, it always has some good products."

"Darjeeling is a place with high mountains and lots of rain and fog, which is very suitable for growing tea. However, this climate is obviously different from most parts of India."

"Otherwise, the British would not have chosen this place as a summer resort. During the hottest season of the year, many Indian officials and nobles would come here for vacation and leisure."

In fact, Darjeeling is already within the Himalayas. The sudden increase in altitude also makes the temperature here relatively low. The annual average temperature is less than 15 degrees, which is almost cooler than the plateau areas in the interior of East Africa. This also makes Darjeeling a rare holiday resort in the Indian colony known for its heat.

Of course, the reason why East Africa placed the offices of the three South Asian countries here is because it is relatively close to the three countries.

The so-called South Asian Three-Country Office does not refer to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal in the southern foothills of the Himalayas.

The diplomacy between East Africa and these three countries is basically carried out through the South Asian Three Countries Office in Darjeeling. In other words, the three countries share this special low-level diplomatic office in East Africa. In the past, East Africa was too lazy to even send an envoy.

After all, as for the three countries of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, to put it bluntly, Nepal, the most famous in the international community, has almost no presence. The only thing that is abundant in the local area may be the British Gurkha mercenaries.

Moreover, these three countries are so weak that even the British have no interest in them. Apart from being poor, the environment in which they live can be described as poor and barren.

Moreover, all three countries are landlocked, and their external contacts can basically only be through the Indian colonies. As for trade with other countries, they basically only have Tibet in the Far Eastern Empire.

Therefore, these three small countries in South Asia have basically no trade relations with East Africa, and other aspects of contact are basically zero. There is a lack of communication and no interest relationship. In the past, East Africa only sent an office to maintain the diplomacy of the three countries, which was already a great respect for them.

Of course, that has obviously changed now, with the arrival of Ambassador Charlesson.

One of the purposes of Ambassador Charleson's visit this time is to re-establish diplomatic relations between East Africa and the three countries of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, and at the same time upgrade the three South Asian countries' office in East Africa to embassies of the three South Asian countries, and plan to set up the embassy in the Kingdom of Sikkim.

However, even though an embassy has a higher status and is more formal than a so-called office, it is still shared by the three countries. As for why the embassy is set up in Sikkim, it is because Sikkim itself connects Nepal and Bhutan and is located in the center of the two countries.

This actually reflects the arrogance of East Africa. The fact that there is one diplomatic institution among three countries shows that East Africa does not attach much importance to this place.

Of course, from a practical point of view, the East African government also wants to save money. If it sets up a diplomatic mission in three countries, it will have to pay three salaries, which is obviously not a cost-effective deal.

If it weren't for the special purpose of visiting East Africa this time, they wouldn't even want to set up an embassy in Sikkim.

"This trip to South Asia is a tough job for us. After all, we don't have much interest in Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan," said Charleson.

"Not to mention that this place is in the heart of the British colonies, so we can't do anything big."

"The reason why the Empire sent me here this time is mainly for long-term considerations. I can't use the connections here now, and I'm not sure about the future."

"However, this is definitely a good thing for your three South Asian offices. When you arrive in Sikkim, you will definitely be promoted, although the diplomats of such a small country are not very valuable."

Diplomats are also divided into different levels. For example, diplomacy with the great powers is obviously much more powerful than running to this "nowhere shit" place.

But no matter what, a proper diplomatic agency is much better than the so-called "South Asian Three Countries Office". Trian asked: "Why did the Empire suddenly attach importance to diplomacy with the three countries of Nepal this time?"

Charleson replied: "I don't really know what the government is thinking, but I have a few guesses."

“This time the government sent me here and also commissioned a project, which is to strive to build an airport in Sikkim.”

"The progress in aircraft manufacturing technology over the years has greatly improved the performance of aircraft. For example, some of our domestically produced aircraft, some new domestically produced transport aircraft, generally have a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, or even more than 4,000 kilometers."

"The empire's military bases in Gwadar Port and Phuket are just over 2,000 kilometers away from Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim."

"This also means that in the future, communication between the empire and these inland countries can be achieved entirely through air transport. This is due to the development of technology."

"Our aircraft can take off from Gwadar Port or Phuket Island, transport relevant materials to the hinterland of South Asia, and then return."

"This gave me a strategic consideration for the Empire, which is that the Empire wants to encircle and suppress the Indian region in future military deployments."

"As we all know, the Empire has always regarded the Indian Ocean as its core interest, so any major country along the Indian Ocean coast is within the Empire's suppression range, such as the Ottoman Empire and Persia. India, as a British colony, is naturally no exception."

"This also means that if we build military airports in Nepal, Sikkim or Bhutan in the future, India will be surrounded by the Empire's three military bases in Gwadar Port and Phuket. The Empire's military aircraft can use these three fulcrums to strike various regions in India at any time."

"Even if it is not used for military purposes but only for civilian purposes, with the current speed of aircraft development, we can also bypass India through the sky and directly establish commercial and diplomatic relations with Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim in the future."

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. If there are other considerations, that is beyond my control."

Charleson's conjecture is actually very close to the considerations of East African governments, especially in the grand strategy of curbing India's development.

India has to be on guard. This is obviously one of the general consensuses of the East African governments. Especially after India's independence in the future, East Africa will tighten various restrictions on India. Now that India is a British colony, it is naturally impossible for East Africa to directly suppress India in the economic field, and there is no need. After all, Britain's colonization of India itself is the biggest restriction on India's development.

Therefore, the East African government is now mainly considering restricting India's future development space militarily. After all, under the threat of imperialism, the Indian government will have to increase its investment in the military field in the future, which will drag down its economic development.

(End of this chapter)