I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 943 International Law of the Sea

"Okay, I know."

Joseph had no choice but to put down his pen and walked towards the locker room, rubbing his sore wrist.

To be honest, he really didn't want to have this meaningless meeting, and he didn't refuse just to save face for the Danish Regent.

Danish diplomats had already discussed the matter with Talleyrand three days earlier, so he knew that Frederick was coming to discuss the armed neutrality alliance.

The Armed Neutrality Alliance is indeed beneficial to France, but if you want it to be truly effective, you must have the means to restrain Britain.

For example, the member states could tie their fleets together and defeat the British Navy.

But this is obviously not possible.

Denmark and Sweden have never been on the same page.

And which Nordic country dares to form a joint fleet with Russia?
So even if an "alliance" is formed, the British will still carry out a blockade.

Soon, Joseph changed his clothes and came to the gate of the Palace of Versailles. He greeted the Danish Regent Frederick, and then walked into the Peace Hall side by side.

Frederick first talked about the friendship between France and Denmark, and soon turned the topic to the trade between the two countries: "Unfortunately, due to the war, the trade volume between our country and France has dropped significantly. This makes me very worried.

“Yes, it all stems from the wrong maritime blockade policy of certain countries.

“Restarting the armed neutrality alliance is undoubtedly the most effective way to deal with this situation.

“Count Bernstorff has already gone to Russia to discuss this matter, and I believe that His Majesty the Tsar should be supportive.

“And the desire for free trade in countries like the Netherlands, Prussia, and the Two Sicilies will make them actively participate.

"If you can convince Sweden, then the Alliance will be able to reproduce the glorious achievements of 14 years ago!"

Joseph was still thinking about administrative reforms, and seemed a little uninterested: "After the establishment of the 'Alliance', if the British still blockade Le Havre, Amiens and Calais, what can it do?"

Frederick was slightly startled, and said hurriedly: "I think that under the pressure of the Franco-Spanish joint fleet, the British Navy should not choose to be enemies with so many major powers."

Joseph exhaled and said, "Your Highness, with all due respect, if Britain does not give in, will the Danish Navy launch an attack on the British blockade fleet?"

"This……"

Frederick had thought that the French prince would be excited to support the League of Armed Neutrality, and that he could use it to show goodwill to France, but he did not expect to encounter such a problem.

Joseph continued: "Or will the Russian navy fire on the British warships?"

"This……"

"The British dared to bombard the Allied escort ships."

Frederick was a little embarrassed. He was stunned for a moment, and clenched his fists as if to save face.
"As long as we remain tough, even without relying on the fleet, we can use other means to put pressure on Britain..."

He just made a casual remark, but it touched Joseph's heart.

Yes, I did fall into a blind spot in thinking before.

Who says you have to use a fleet to deal with a blockade?

As long as we can put pressure on Britain, it will work.

Even too many ants can kill an elephant.

For example, member states of the Armed Neutrality League unanimously imposed fines on British merchant ships that docked.

British merchant ships were prohibited from passing through certain waterways.

Even public condemnation is fine. Yes, public condemnation. Joseph nodded secretly. If Britain is trapped in condemnation from various countries for a long time, it will be a huge blow to its soft power.

Well, relying solely on these few countries of the armed neutral alliance is far from enough.

It would be best to draw the whole of Europe in, forming a huge whirlpool of public opinion and labeling Britain as "shameless" and "domineering".

Of course, this is also difficult to do.

Almost all small countries are unwilling to offend Britain, and most large countries without much maritime interests are not interested either.

But now that he had thought of this, Joseph said to Frederick, "Your Highness, I have some new ideas about the Armed Neutrality Alliance."

The latter was feeling awkward, and upon hearing this, he quickly said, "I look forward to your opinion."

"First, we should maximize the number of member states of the Armed Neutrality Alliance," Joseph said, "and turn it into a large-scale, long-term, and just organization.

"Well, maybe we can give it a more appropriate name."

He then thought of similar organizations in later generations: "For example, it could be changed to the 'International Maritime Convention Organization'.

“As long as there are enough member states, we can call on all countries to jointly formulate an International Law of the Sea as a universal standard for maritime rights and interests.

"If the UK insists on not abiding by the Law of the Sea, it will be standing against the whole world.

“Also, some punitive rules could be established in the Law of the Sea.

“For example, member states can fine merchant ships of countries that violate the Law of the Sea or prohibit them from using their waterways.

"Although we don't have a powerful fleet, we can still do small things like imposing fines."

This time it was Frederick's turn to raise doubts: "If we want to form internationally recognized regulations, at least 70% of European countries must sign them. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to convince so many countries to participate."

Joseph nodded: "We can first build the organizational framework, and then use some concepts that most countries agree with to attract them to join.

"For example, the principle 'inherited' from the ancient Roman Empire - the ocean is a common property of the world and does not belong to any country. Each country only has a dozen nautical miles along the coast that are considered territorial waters. Apart from territorial waters, no one may prevent ships of other countries from sailing on the sea.

"It may take a long time to get the vast majority of countries to join the 'International Law of the Sea', but it is worth a try."

Frederick felt a surge of pride in his heart. Leading the world to sign a bill regulating maritime rights and interests was definitely an unprecedented feat.

If I succeed in doing this, I will become an eternal legend in the ocean!

Oh, of course, the French prince must be the protagonist of the legend, but I should be right behind him.

The 24-year-old regent immediately straightened his chest and said solemnly: "Your Highness, I will visit various European countries and try to convince them as soon as possible!"

Joseph smiled and said, "Thank you for your great contribution to human civilization."

Although he said so, it is estimated that it will take at least ten years for the "International Law of the Sea" to have some shape, but it would be good even if it could disgust the UK.

Moreover, leading other countries to formulate such a global law can also increase France's international influence.

These are all soft power.

……

Joseph's schedule was extremely busy.

The next day, as soon as the Danish Regent left, the Dutch Prime Minister arrived at the Palace of Versailles.

(End of this chapter)