African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1742 The Decision of the East African Government

Risks still exist. Privately trading one's own territory is easily criticized as an act of treason. Under normal circumstances, Governor Stafren would certainly not want to go to that point, but now is the most special and critical time, and it is necessary to act expediently in a time of crisis.

After hearing Sapiat's demands, Brigadier General Trenin was tempted, but ultimately restrained himself.

He said to Sapiat, "I will report this matter as soon as possible. Communication in Lampung Port is quite advanced. Mr. Sapiat, if you are not in a hurry to go back and report, you can rest in Lampung Port for a while and wait for our notification."

Sapiat was naturally anxious, but Brigadier General Terenin was unwilling to take the risk, so he had no choice but to watch Brigadier General Terenin follow the procedure.

Lampung Port has a submarine cable laid by East Africa, which is the end of the middle section of the East Africa-Indian Ocean submarine cable line and the starting point of the Pacific submarine cable network connected through the Sunda Strait.

For example, the Pacific Fleet headquarters on Belitung Island, the Lanfang Overseas Province, East Kalimantan, Mindanao, and other islands were all directly connected to the mainland via this route, thus bypassing the Strait of Malacca.

The Strait of Malacca route is primarily responsible for civilian services.

In summary, East Africa has now established a complete submarine cable network that is independent of the UK and covers the entire world.

Brigadier General Terenin's report was quickly transmitted via undersea cable to the Indian Ocean Fleet Headquarters in Bagamoyo on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

Then, it was reported to the city of Rhine through the local communication system.

The request from Governor Stafren immediately caught the attention of Crown Prince Frederick, who convened an emergency meeting to analyze the pros and cons.

Rhine City.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know, Japan launched a war against the Dutch East Indies. Now, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Stafren, wants to complete a territorial deal with our East Africa because of the war..."

Crown Prince Frederick explained the background and consequences of the incident to the East African leaders. After learning the whole story, the leaders were immediately captivated.

Defense Minister Schwager said eagerly, "Your Highness, what are we waiting for? The Dutch have already brought us the meat to our doorstep; we should just eat it!"

"The importance of the Sunda Strait is self-evident, and we have always tried to control this vital sea route."

"Now is the best opportunity. Although we have controlled the Sunda Strait before, it is not legitimate. We might as well take this opportunity to solidify the fact that the Sunda Strait belongs to East Africa."

It is true that East Africa controls the Sunda Strait, but not completely. It has only extorted a few small islands from the Dutch government, as well as a small piece of land on the southern coast of Sumatra, which is relatively insignificant. However, the two sides of the Sunda Strait are still mainly in the hands of the Dutch.

However, even though East Africa controls less land in the Sunda Strait, it has the ability to deploy its military forces there due to its strong national power, something the Netherlands cannot do.

Therefore, from a military perspective, East Africa has no problem controlling the Sunda Strait, but East Africa is clearly not particularly satisfied with sharing the Sunda Strait with the Netherlands.

This is similar to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where Britain, France, East Africa, and even Italy could all get involved, but given the opportunity, who wouldn't want to monopolize it?

Minister Schwager held this view regarding the Sunda Strait, believing that it would be safest for the strait to be completely under the control of East Africa, and that the value of the Sunda Strait to East Africa indeed justifies doing so.

For other countries, the Sunda Strait would seem somewhat redundant due to the existence of the Strait of Malacca.

However, due to the special geographical location of East Africa, the cost difference between the Sunda Strait and the Strait of Malacca for trade is not significant. Militarily, East Africa dominates this passage, making it more reliable in terms of security than the Strait of Malacca. Strategically, it is also more conducive to East Africa's control over its colonies in Southeast Asia.

These factors combined are what led Minister Schwager to believe that East Africa must have exclusive control of the Sunda Strait.

With supporters, there are naturally opponents. Foreign Minister Alfred said with some concern: "If we make a deal with the Dutch at this time, we will have to offend Japan, which may trigger a conflict between the two countries."

"We have received some information about the East Indies war, and we know that Japan has a considerable number of troops attacking the Dutch East Indies this time."

"Although the Empire is more powerful than Japan, the South Seas are not the Indian Ocean. The distance between us and the South Seas limits the Empire's military influence in the region. On the contrary, the travel between the Japanese mainland and the South Seas is more convenient, giving Japan a greater advantage in terms of military and transportation."

In addition to the long distance between East Africa and Southeast Asia, the region is also restricted by its topography, forming a vast island chain from the Indochina Peninsula to the East Indies and finally to Australia.

The two most important gaps in this island chain are the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait. The Strait of Malacca is within the British sphere of influence.

In other words, the only thing that can ensure safety and stability between East Africa and Southeast Asia is the Sunda Strait, which limits East Africa's control over Southeast Asia.

Currently, there are no major obstacles between Japan and Southeast Asia, especially the vast South China Sea, which provides a fast passage for the Japanese navy to move south.

Alfred continued, "There is a considerable risk that a falling out with Japan could directly trigger a war between the two countries. If Japan were to take advantage of the situation and attack the Empire's colonies and spheres of influence in the Pacific, such as Lampung Port, Belitung Island, Lanfang Overseas Province, East Kalimantan, and Mindanao, our losses would be enormous."

"Moreover, even if the Empire wants to recover these places from Japan, it will inevitably have to pay a heavy price, which is not worthwhile. Therefore, I suggest that we be cautious about the deal proposed by the Dutch this time."

Minister Alfred certainly did not consider Japan to be a match for East Africa, but in his view, it was not worth fighting if it resulted in huge losses for East Africa in the South Pacific and even the entire Pacific region due to offending Japan.

Minister Schwager disagreed with Minister Alfred's statement and offered a rebuttal.

“Minister Alfred, you overestimate the Japanese as a diplomat. How could they dare to offend the Empire, especially over such a trivial matter as the Sunda Strait?”

"The gap in national strength between Japan and us is enormous. Even among the great powers, Japan's military strength is almost at the bottom, while the Empire is the most powerful country in the world."

"Unless they've gone mad, they wouldn't dare to wage war against the Empire. After all, the only outcome of being an enemy of the Empire is death."

Minister Schwager's words make a lot of sense. The gap in national power between East Africa and Japan is so vast that it can only be described as a world of difference. In any field, East Africa far surpasses Japan. Therefore, it's understandable that he doesn't take Japan seriously. In fact, let alone Japan, no other country can compare to East Africa in Minister Schwager's opinion.

For example, the United States, which is frequently mentioned by other countries in the world today, hopes to regard East Africa and the United States as world powers on the same level.

However, in terms of sheer size, East Africa already has a huge advantage over the United States, regardless of its land area, population, industry, or sphere of influence.

Take population, for example. Both countries are considered large countries with populations exceeding 100 million by European countries, but there are differences even among these populous nations. East Africa's population is nearly 70 million more than that of the United States. This extra population is almost equivalent to the population of Germany before its annexation of Austria-Hungary.

With its massive population, East Africa's market size, manpower, industrial and agricultural scale, and other closely related areas far exceed those of the United States.

Therefore, to put it bluntly, on paper, no other country in East Africa could rival Japan, let alone Japan, which Schwager considered a "mere" bottom-tier power.

Minister Alfred was aware of this, but he did not lower his guard against Japan.

"Minister Schwager, what you said is true, but Japan is definitely not a country to be underestimated. There have been many instances in history where the few have won against the many."

"If problems arise in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic, we can naturally cover them with the Empire's strong national power and military advantage. But as I said before, we are still too far from the Pacific Ocean, with the Indian Ocean in between."

"Furthermore, Japan is an extremely crazy country, and we cannot judge it by common sense."

“You have never dealt with Japan, so you may lack understanding of them.”

"What the Japanese desire most is to gamble, especially in the national military field. Since Japan's industrialization, they have been extremely fond of taking risks and disregarding the consequences in their military expansion abroad."

"In my opinion, Japan is an extremely crazy and irrational deformed country. Therefore, when dealing with Japan, we should never think of interacting with normal people, but rather regard it as a mentally unstable madman who may suddenly attack and hurt people at any time without warning."

"To put it simply, Japan has now initiated a war with the Soviet Union in Northeast Asia."

"Although the Soviet Union was not well-regarded in the international community, we must also admit that its overall national strength was far greater than that of Japan."

"But even under these circumstances, Japan still brazenly launched a war against the Soviet Union, which is enough to show that military force and great strength cannot intimidate Japan. On the contrary, it may backfire and make it even more insane."

"Therefore I have no doubt that if we make a deal with the Dutch and actively participate in the war between the two countries, it will trigger a strong reaction from Japan, to the point that the situation will develop in the worst possible direction."

The outbreak of the Nomonhan Incident was yet another demonstration of the Japanese national spirit. At least from the perspective of East Africa, this war was clearly unnecessary for Japan.

Putting aside the fact that the Soviet Union was far stronger than Japan, the question is, what benefits would Japan gain from attacking the Soviet Union? East Africans did not see any tangible benefits that Japan could gain from it.

Even if Japan had no choice but to fight because of the mineral resources that were difficult to develop in those harsh and cold regions, the ideological conflict with the Soviet Union, and other geopolitical factors.

However, from the perspective of East Africa, Japan's timing in launching the war was a complete blunder. After all, the Soviet Union's primary task at the time was to guard against Germany, and it was impossible for the Soviet Union to spare any energy to target Japan before the German threat was eliminated.

Even if Japan were to launch a war against the Soviet Union, the best time would have been after Germany had already started its own war against the Soviet Union.

In conclusion, Japan's instigation of the Nomonhan Incident is incomprehensible to East Africans. As Foreign Minister Alfred said, such a country is mentally unstable and unpredictable.

Minister Schwager acknowledged this, but he did not change his mind.

“Minister Alfred, your summary and analysis of Japan are very insightful, but that does not prevent us from signing a territorial agreement with the Dutch.”

"The Empire is not afraid of Japan's actions, and the Dutch East Indies are internationally recognized as Dutch territory. As long as we both agree to trade with the Dutch, no third party has the right to interfere."

"At the same time, although Japan is a country that is crazy, they are not intellectually disabled. On the contrary, the intelligence of the Japanese people as a whole is normal. Otherwise, how could they have become the first and currently the only great power in Asia?"

"This shows that Japan was also able to see the situation clearly. For example, in the 19th century, they started modernization reforms and promoted industrial development by cooperating with the British, and their relationship with Britain continued until before World War I."

"Japan had been patient until after World War I before it turned against the British, which was beyond British control."

"As for why Japan dared to turn against the British later, a big reason for it was the decline of British power. Japan also discovered the weakness of the British, which made it more and more unscrupulous in the Far East."

"Unlike Britain, our empire is still developing rapidly and becoming more and more powerful. Japan should not dare to provoke the imperial authority. As for the Soviet Union, Japan dared to launch a war because the Soviet Union's focus was not in the Far East, and it was only connected to the Far East by the Trans-Siberian Railway."

"Therefore, Japan did not launch a war against the Soviet Union blindly, but believed that it had a certain chance of winning."

"Returning to the issue of Southeast Asia, Japan should also understand that the Empire is not to be offended. Even if they really have designs on the Empire's colonies, they should be ranked after Britain and France."

"Japan is unlikely to go to war with the Empire until it has dealt with Britain and France."

Britain and France are already tied down by Germany, leaving them with limited military strength in Southeast Asia. If Japan wants to expand its influence in Southeast Asia, prioritizing the elimination of Britain and France is the best solution. Confronting East Africa and the United States prematurely would only lead to trouble.

Defense Minister Schwager's reasoning also convinced the vast majority of people in the East African government.

This solidified Crown Prince Frederick's resolve, and he said, "In that case, let's bring the Sunda Strait under the Empire's sphere of influence overseas this time! Next, let Brigadier General Trenning and the Dutch Governor-General Stafren establish this matter directly through a treaty."

"As for the Dutch demands, we can intervene and mediate the war, but we will not further escalate the conflict between the Netherlands and Japan. However, we can agree to the safety guarantee for the Dutch colonial officials. Even if they cannot reach an agreement with Japan, they can seek refuge in our controlled areas. But once they enter the imperial controlled areas, they cannot openly continue to participate in the confrontation with Japan."

(End of this chapter)