Chapter 1083: Chapter 92: The Franco-German Rivalry
The core of the German government’s discussion on East Africa remains an attempt to bring East Africa into its own camp; if a country with a population of over 100 million and a land area of over 10 million square kilometers can be bound, the benefits to Germany are self-evident.
William II said somewhat discontentedly, "In the past, we have consistently shown goodwill towards East Africa, but the East African government’s attitude has been ambiguous. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to think of ways to make East Africa’s stance lean more towards us, ideally by signing an alliance."
Regarding the East African government’s slipperiness, Prime Minister Batman was also quite troubled. He said helplessly, "In recent years, we have been trying to infiltrate domestically in East Africa, but with little effect. East Africa is unlike those Central and Eastern European countries, as even accepting our investments comes with quite a few restrictions."
"That’s not my biggest concern; East Africa’s biggest issue is their economic system, which is inherently exclusionary. Trying to influence domestic opinion through the economy is almost impossible, nor can we effectively support forces inclined towards us."
Economic assistance and loans are never free, especially not assistance and loans from major powers. Moreover, Germany, unlike the United Kingdom, considers political returns more while providing economic assistance and cares less about profits compared to the United Kingdom.
In Central and Eastern Europe, due to relatively backward economies, it is difficult to accumulate funds for industrial development, even in semi-industrialized nations like the Austria-Hungary.
However, through infiltration by German capital in these regions, interests are slightly bound with local forces, naturally inclining national decisions to favor Germany as the benefactor, especially in these Free City nations.
East Africa, however, is evidently different from these countries and regions. East Africa has never been a Free City nation, and its state-owned economy is disproportionately strong, so the attempt to economically bind the East African government is almost impossible.
Even most of Germany’s investments in East Africa can only be achieved via joint ventures, and in such a scenario, German capital cannot even dominate these joint ventures, let alone influence East African domestic politics.
William II looked somewhat sullen, which is also what William II cannot comprehend, or one might say the East African government clearly fails to appreciate good intentions.
From a cultural perspective, the root culture of East Africa is the same as Germany’s. From a royal perspective, they all belong to the Hohenzollern family, and from an economic and geopolitical standpoint, they complement each other strongly, so William II believes East Africa should naturally team up with Germany.
William II: "No matter what, East Africa cannot be ignored; such a sizable nation cannot be used by us, nor should it ever fall towards nations like France. I’ve heard that the French have quite close economic ties with East Africa."
Batman nodded and said, "The East African government may be doing this out of a need to balance; besides, there was hardly any animosity between the Rhein Royal Family and France, so their economic cooperation isn’t surprising. Not to mention France, even with places like the United Kingdom and Portugal, which had past conflicts with East Africa, East Africa still maintains trade relations normally."
William II: "The position of East Africa is too comfortable! If we Germany had a similar geopolitical position as East Africa, we wouldn’t be so passive."
East Africa can practice balanced diplomacy and thus achieve diverse alliances because, fundamentally, it’s due to the huge geopolitical advantage of East Africa. East Africa, similar to the United States, is far removed from the disputes in Europe and Asia, with almost no strong nations surrounding its region to counter it, granting it immense flexibility and autonomy.
And this is not good news for Germany. Strong autonomy means Germany cannot easily control East Africa, even in scenarios where Germany and East Africa are deeply economically intertwined.
In bilateral economic trade, there is no issue of who dominates; Germany is an important market for East Africa, and conversely, East Africa is also an important market for Germany. Additionally, East Africa is one of Germany’s primary suppliers of raw materials, though East Africa has little demand for such from Germany.
Therefore, even though Germany’s economy is strong, it cannot establish a huge advantage over East Africa; purely from an economic scale perspective, East Africa is almost comparable to Germany, although East Africa’s larger population results in per capita data lagging behind Germany.
Batman: "In short, for East Africa, we can only adopt a strategy of drawing them in, but we must also apply certain pressure, at least to make them aware that without Germany’s help, it would be quite challenging for East Africa to complete industrial construction on its own, thereby making East Africa more dependent on us."
...
Paris.
Compared to the German government, the French government is more concerned about East Africa’s future diplomatic direction.
French President Farlie stated: "We absolutely cannot let Germany and East Africa, such a populous nation, join forces; otherwise, it would be a disaster for the world and for France."
"Imagine if East Africa joined the German camp, then our rear, as well as the colonies in Asia and Africa, would be threatened by East Africans."
As Africa’s strongest nation, East Africa is like a towering mountain over any African nation or colony; this is the political influence stemming from East Africa’s powerful strength in Africa.
Even though most French colonies do not border East Africa, France does not dare to underestimate this nation. French colonies like Gabon, Djibouti, and Madagascar Island directly face threats from East Africa.
As for colonies in West and North Africa, they cannot effectively isolate East Africa’s influence, since East Africa’s naval strength is not weak, and its development along the West Coast has visibly become a reality, laying clear before the world.
France’s trade with East Africa mainly transits through East Africa’s West Coast, so France is not unfamiliar with the development of East Africa’s West Coast.
If East Africa’s navy headed north along Africa’s West Coast, it could virtually threaten all West African nations and colonies. If it went the further extreme, East Africa’s navy could even navigate the Atlantic Ocean and reach France’s coasts.
A glance at the map shows East Africa’s major impact on the world structure, and now the exposure of East Africa’s population data further solidifies Farlie’s idea.
"For a nation of a hundred million people, even combining our homeland with overseas colonies, we don’t have as many people; simultaneously, East Africa’s military strength cannot be overlooked, its navy has consistently been one of the important forces worldwide, possessing four of the most advanced Dreadnought squadrons. If we let East Africa partially cooperate with Germany, East Africa’s action at any point might cause us huge trouble."
Until this year, France has just started constructing its first Dreadnought, while East Africa has already built four and is equipped with one Quasi-Dreadnought. From this angle alone, East Africa’s navy has already surpassed that of the French Navy.
So the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany may underestimate East Africa’s navy, but France cannot; in recent years, France in naval construction has indeed fallen behind.
"We have to approach East Africa like we do towards the United Kingdom and Russia, as much as possible to make East Africa come to our side, at least ensuring neutrality. East Africa’s relationship with Germany is far from what the United Kingdom and Russia can compare, as they naturally belong to the same culture and language, so we must increase our focus on East Africa."
"Especially in monitoring the Germans’ little maneuvers, most of our energy is now concentrated in the eastern interior, and any potential destabilizing factor that might impact our future decisive battle with Germany needs prioritizing resolution."
President Farlie’s significant contribution to France is the major improvement of Anglo-French and Franco-Russian relations during his tenure, directly founding the Allies and achieving the ultimate victory in the war against Germany.
So judging from Farlie’s tactics, it is evident that he greatly values cooperation in diplomatic fields to unite any forces that can restrict Germany’s development.
