Chapter 1291 Indian Temptation
When it comes to East Africa itself, there is also evidence. For example, the East African Air Force. When the East African Air Force was first established, it was only established as an aviation unit to cooperate with the army. In recent years, it has officially become an independent service, alongside the East African Army and Navy.
All in all, the East African Navy has shouldered the important task of becoming an important naval force in the world from the beginning, and is an indispensable and important link in the development strategy of East African countries.
As for such an important naval force that aims to compete for world maritime hegemony, what it obviously lacks most is historical heritage and overseas bases.
Freer said: "During the South African Naval War, the British Navy crossed the Socotra Islands and attacked Mogadishu, our country's northernmost port at the time."
"Later, when the British Navy withdrew to India, it also used the Seychelles Islands as a transit point. At that time, the naval strength of East Africa was still weak, so we could only stop and retreat to the mainland. However, the existence of the Seychelles Islands still gave the Imperial Navy a powerful pressure."
How can you allow others to snore and sleep on the side of the couch? The British who control these strategic locations in the Indian Ocean have the strength to make it difficult for the East African Indian Ocean Fleet to sleep peacefully.
Of course, Ambassador Thomson naturally did not believe Freer's words. East Africa was afraid of Britain, but Britain in turn regarded East Africa as its biggest rival in the Indian Ocean. East Africa was worried about Britain attacking the east coast of East Africa, and Britain was also afraid of East Africa's surprise attack on Bombay Port. !
After all, in the eyes of the British, India is their thorn in the side. It is completely unnecessary and not worthwhile to compromise India's safety with East Africa.
Ambassador Thomson said: "I still remember the naval battle in East Africa vividly. The battle between your country and Britain at that time can be said to have shocked the whole world."
Although the outcome of the East African Naval War was a tie, the fact that the East African Navy, which had just started at that time, could tie with the Royal Navy really surprised many countries and media.
After all, there is almost no country in the world that can tie with the British Royal Navy, and there is no country that can defeat the British Royal Navy, or even dare to say defeat the British Royal Navy.
As powerful as the German Navy, which is currently the second largest naval force in the world, they dare not say that it can challenge the British Royal Navy. It is still blocked in the Baltic Sea. Other countries, let alone comparing with the British Royal Navy, just want to catch up with the strength of the German Navy. It's all very difficult.
Although the German Navy has not had a very impressive record so far, being able to compete with the British Royal Navy in the Atlantic Ocean is enough for other countries to take a high look.
As for the naval battles in East Africa, they were already recorded in the ironclad era of the last century. Today, there is no objective standard for the combat effectiveness of the East African navy.
There is a big difference between naval strength and combat effectiveness. For example, the U.S. Navy is very powerful on paper and has more than a dozen battleships, but it lacks advanced cruisers.
I don’t know what the U.S. Navy’s thinking is. Although battleships are the main battleships of the navy today, it is impossible to do everything personally. For tasks such as reconnaissance, cruise, escort, and expulsion in naval battles, using battleships is more wasteful.
The current battle between Britain and Germany is a test of each other between the reconnaissance fleets led by battlecruisers, with the main force being light cruisers.
This also led to the poor performance of the U.S. Navy in the early days of World War I in the previous life, which was only overshadowed by the victory of the war.
The development of the East African navy is relatively conservative. In addition to attempts and explorations in submarine and aircraft carrier operations, East Africa is currently focusing on the United Kingdom and Germany in the development of conventional ships, so the East African navy is large and comprehensive.
However, it is difficult to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the East African Navy. From the East African Naval War to the present, the East African Navy has had no actual combat experience for more than 20 years.
Freer sighed and said: "This is natural. After all, the British power in the Indian Ocean is deeply rooted. We in East Africa are just a latecomer country. We naturally have some shortcomings, and it is difficult to solve them. Especially in the Indian Ocean, there is a lack of stability. naval base."
Ambassador Thomson: "In this case, although we in France do not have much capabilities in the Indian Ocean, we still have some barren land. I don't know if we can help your country."
As soon as these words came out, Ambassador Thomson truly handed over his trump card. He had been talking to Freer for so long to pave the way for the next transaction. Freer also asked very cooperatively: "I wonder if your country can help East Africa? If it can solve our problems, East Africa will definitely give you something in return."
Ambassador Thomson said: "Your Excellency Freer also knows that France has little presence in the Indian Ocean today, and because our country has now shifted its attention to other regions, such as Europe, West Africa and Indochina, the empire attaches even more importance to the Indian Ocean. Weak."
"We have several colonies in India, and we are willing to trade with your country for the Indian stronghold in the east, and we are willing to sell Rodrigues Island in Mauritius to your country."
"The three lands of the empire in India are local governance, Yanam and Garigar. I think your country should be interested in these three places."
"As for Rodrigues Island, I think you should be quite familiar with it. It is located to the east of the main island of Mauritius."
France had fought with Britain in India for more than 50 years, but in the end there were only five colonies left. In addition to the three colonies mentioned by Ambassador Thomson, there was also Mahe on the west coast of India and Chang in the northeast of India. Delnagor.
Obviously, even if they wanted to lure East Africa into India and conflict with Britain, the French themselves did not forget to leave a hand in India and left a colonial stronghold on the east and west coasts.
After all, the French are also greedy for India! However, they just don’t have the strength to compete with the British. In this case, it is better to let East Africa disrupt the situation in India. France may be able to fish in troubled waters in the future.
The two remaining colonies were the last hope of French India. Of course, the other three colonies were handed over to East Africa because of another consideration, which was that these three places were relatively close together.
After all, Britain has been operating in India for a long time, and France is afraid that East Africa will not be able to play a role in India. These three relatively close colonies will make it easier for East Africa, which has just entered India, to form a confrontation with Britain.
As for Rodrigues Island, this is a volcanic island about 500 kilometers away from Mauritius. However, there are still conditions for development here. In the past life, nearly 40,000 people lived on this island, and there are also conditions for building a port on the island.
It’s just that in the past, France paid more attention to the development of the two islands of Reunion and Mauritius, so it relatively ignored Rodrigues Island.
Judging from the chips thrown by the French, Rodrigues Island is considered the most attractive to Friel. If it controls this island, it will mean that East Africa has a solid stronghold in the waters east of Madagascar.
In fact, France did not want to give this island to East Africa at first. Instead, they initially wanted to negotiate with several islands where the French Southern and Antarctic territories were located in the previous life.
However, in the end, the French government gave up this idea because France knew very well that these islands had no value because they were close to the Antarctic and were completely uninhabited and uninhabitable for a long time.
Therefore, it would be better to take Rodrigues Island, which has development conditions and is not too important, to appear more sincere.
Freer was secretly happy about the generosity of the French government. Although he knew that France was throwing out poisonous bait, Freer was not worried at all.
The pits laid by the French were mainly three colonial strongholds in India, hoping to create obstacles for the British in the future, and East Africa would naturally not be afraid of the British, especially within the Indian Ocean.
Therefore, Freer believes that the French conditions can be agreed to. Of course, Freer will not use any "guarantee not to participate in the war" or other rhetoric to achieve these conditions, which is related to the core interests of East African countries.
(End of chapter)