50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 906 Stubborn Greed

The main participants in this negotiation were the Robert Group and the Cape Verde Parliament; the representatives from China and Guinea-Bissau were only there to mediate.

Therefore, when the ownership of Bulawa Island, a prerequisite for the negotiations, was determined in the first formal meeting, the delegates breathed a sigh of relief.

Cape Verde's concession made everyone very happy.

Because as long as this prerequisite exists, the talks won't fall apart, and subsequent negotiations will all revolve around issues of mutual benefit.

Cape Verde is willing to cede Bulava Island, but there are still more than 5000 people living on the island. If the people cannot be relocated, it will be trouble for Sun Zhiwei in the future.

Therefore, the matter of relocating the population should still be handled by the Cape Verdean Parliament.

However, relocation costs money, resettlement costs money, and the Cape Verdean Parliament cannot work for nothing; all of this money must be paid by Sun Zhiwei.

On the other hand, although Sun Zhiwei has ownership of the island in accordance with international law, there is also a concept of factual boundary in international law.

Cape Verde now effectively occupies Bulava Island. They are willing to cede it, but Sun Zhiwei needs to provide some compensation to the Cape Verdean Parliament.

This is an explanation to the people of Cape Verde, and also an opportunity for the Cape Verdean parliament and president to shirk responsibility.

The issue of interests was originally a big problem, but fortunately, Sun Zhiwei didn't care about this small amount of money, which made the negotiation much easier.

Of course, he didn't want to be taken advantage of.

He bought Bulava Island with real money, so it's only right that he takes over the island.

He was already planning to develop Bulawa Island, and he could spend more money, but not too much. That's why he needed a representative from the group to negotiate on his behalf.

Afterwards, witnessed by China and Guinea-Bissau, the two sides began daily negotiations to discuss how much money Sun Zhiwei should pay.

With no fear of war arising from a breakdown in negotiations, the Cape Verdean parliament became active again, engaging in heated arguments with the Robert Group.

This resulted in the Cape Verdean parliament being unwilling to concede an inch when it came to monetary negotiations, displaying a very tough stance.

Local media also recorded the parliament's efforts to advocate for the country's interests and reported on them in local newspapers and on television.

Suddenly, the Cape Verdean Parliament, which had abandoned Bulawa Island, seemed to become a national hero, and its reputation among the people improved.

After several days of negotiations, both parties agreed that the expenses to be discussed would include three items.

The first item is the relocation expenses for residents, the second item is the resettlement expenses for residents, and the third item is the compensation given to the Cape Verdean government.

Sun Zhiwei was also troubled by this. These guys were too greedy, demanding $1000 per person just for the relocation fee.

This would be a normal amount in New York, but this is Cape Verde.

It's important to understand that Cape Verde is currently very poor. The local tourism industry has not yet started to develop, and there are few exploitable resources in the country.

Cape Verde's national income comes from three sources: agriculture, fishing, and the port.

Moreover, the scale of planting and fishing is very small, and most farmers and fishermen can barely make ends meet with their income from these two sources.

Every year, the government also needs to use port revenue to import grain in order to subsidize the food shortage for domestic residents.

Last year, the GDP per capita in the Republic of Cape Verde was only $1200, and the annual disposable income per capita was less than $500.

In Cape Verde, $1000 is equivalent to two years' salary for a local adult.

If this is hard to understand, let's do a calculation. Based on the average annual disposable income of 4.13 yuan per person in China in 2024, if the other party demands 8 yuan per person for moving, it will be much easier to understand.

With 5000 people on Bulawa Island, the relocation cost would amount to as much as $500 million.

It's simply outrageous.

The Chinese mediator frowned upon hearing the offer from the Cape Verdean parliament, while the Guinea-Bissau representative wished he could take their place.

Even a fool could tell that the money would never reach the hands of those 5000 residents.

He'd be a fool to agree to pay that money. The Robert Group only agreed to $200 per person for moving expenses.

The meeting lasted three more days, but neither side was willing to compromise. Thus, the negotiations stalled on the first expense.

Sun Zhiwei was well aware that the reason the other side was so fearless was because of international mediation, and they were not afraid of another fight.

So he wanted to make a lot of money in this area while also saving face for Parliament.

Sun Zhiwei almost laughed. They probably hadn't heard the saying: what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't expect to get in negotiations.

On that very day, Sun Zhi received a telegram informing him that the escort fleet that had departed from Subi Island would arrive at Playa Port the following day.

To his surprise, it wasn't just one No. 2 frigate that came this time.

Instead, it is a mixed formation consisting of three frigates (001, 002, and 005) and a newly commissioned submarine (004), totaling four ships.

The total tonnage of the entire mixed formation reached 15000 tons, of which the three surface frigates alone accounted for 6800 tons.

This is a powerful deterrent; the missiles carried by the fleet are enough to plow through the entire Cape Verde Islands.

It's strange that Dong Haoyang sent out all his resources; apart from the 003 nuclear submarine that remained at home, Subi Island practically mobilized its entire force.

However, Sun Zhiwei still felt that the fleet's arrival was timely, as the negotiations had just reached a stalemate, and the fleet's arrival was a good opportunity to break the deadlock.

In order to crush the Cape Verdean Parliament's stubborn greed, he plans to put on a good show for them tomorrow.

Sun Zhi then gave the orders, and soon his men began preparing for the fleet's appearance the next day.

The next morning, representatives from Cape Verde, China, and Guinea-Bissau arrived at the parliament building's meeting hall on time.

But today, none of the Robert Group representatives, who are always punctual, showed up.

Just as everyone was puzzled and preparing to send someone to urge them on, Robert Group sent someone to notify the representatives of the three parties.

Today, the Robert Group will invite them aboard the Sukarno to rest and ease the tension of the past few days of negotiations.

Although the representatives of the three parties were puzzled about what the Robert Group was up to, they were not worried that they would do anything irrational.

It's normal for negotiations to stall; if everyone compromises, a result will eventually be reached.

However, since the Robert Group had specially invited everyone to board that frigate today, they thought about it and decided to go along and take a look.

I heard that the Sukarno was originally a presidential vehicle, and such ships are very rare in the world. Being able to go on board and visit it would make the trip worthwhile.

Afterwards, the representatives of the three parties went to the dock together and boarded the Sukarno, where Sun Zhiwei personally greeted them on board.

(End of this chapter)