Chapter 1106: Chapter 115: The United Kingdom’s Sincerity—Dubai
Therefore, Russia is undoubtedly a presence that cannot be ignored by the governments of various countries at the moment. Normally, it will take only twenty or thirty years for Russia to inevitably rejoin the ranks of world naval powers.
In fact, strictly speaking, the Russian Navy has never fallen out of the ranks of strong world naval powers. Despite losing nearly half its fleet in the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Navy remains one of the most formidable naval forces in the world.
Before World War I in a previous life, the Russian Navy had already rebuilt to nearly seventy million tonnes, coming right after Japan, but far surpassing both Italy and Austria-Hungary. It is worth noting that Italy was among the powers in the previous era, and its naval strength was still considerable.
Currently among the world powers, East Africa has replaced Italy, and is indeed a stronger version of Italy. As for the present Kingdom of Italy, it belongs to the type of medium industrial power in Europe, similar to Belgium.
This brings the capacity of the Italian government into focus. Even though it faced severe setbacks in the past century, it quickly recovered; it cannot be compared to the inept government of Portugal. After all, the current Italian government is inherently strong enough, and the previous Italian government almost unified the entire peninsula.
It is worth mentioning that the current development of the Italian Navy is quite commendable, with a total national naval tonnage exceeding 100,000 tonnes. Although it is less than half of its arch-rival Austria-Hungary, from a European and global perspective, it is considered a compact and robust navy.
With all that said, it is evident that the British Royal Navy faces far more competition than in the previous era, and the chief culprit in creating this scenario is East Africa.
Thus, Russell directly refuses Frier’s unreasonable demands: "That’s impossible, a total tonnage of one million tonnes is completely unnecessary for you. We in the United Kingdom can perfectly ensure the safety of East Africa in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic."
As for the British guarantee, East African officials didn’t believe a word of it. Had the British government been this principled, East Africa wouldn’t have had to vigorously develop its naval power, especially since the main opponent East Africa faces in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic is the Royal Navy.
Frier said, "Since there is a disagreement between our two countries on this topic, why not put it aside for now and let’s first see what benefits your country can offer us? After all, we can’t reveal our cards first."
The attitude of the East African government ultimately depends on the benefits Britain can offer to East Africa. As for the naval issue, East Africa has a relatively flexible bottom line. If Britain can meet the current needs of East Africa, then it won’t be impossible to adjust the naval tonnage down a bit.
Russell, seeing Frier’s obstinate demeanor, can only lay out Britain’s conditions: "We can thaw relations diplomatically with East Africa and end the past twenty-year-long economic sanctions, opening the South American and Middle Eastern markets to East Africa."
At this point, Russell specifically observes the reaction of East African officials, and as expected, there isn’t any.
If it’s just about these conditions, it wouldn’t be enough to tempt the East African government. After all, the South American and Middle Eastern markets, even those in Central Asia, aren’t solely dictated by Britain. East Africa’s penetration over the years naturally has yielded considerable results. So, to the East African government, these conditions are basically offering others’ resources.
As for Britain easing relations with East Africa and ending the economic sanctions, this indeed is quite significant for East Africa, but given that Britain’s economic sanction against East Africa has been going on for over twenty years, East Africa is well-used to it.
Russell also perceives from the indifferent expressions of the East African government officials that this bit of interest indeed isn’t enough to sway East Africa, so Russell decides to offer something heavier.
Russell says with a serious expression: "In addition, we can promise the East African government access to influence in the Indian Ocean region, for which we can transfer sovereignty of a piece of land originally belonging to the Persian Gulf region to East Africa."
Frier asks unemotionally, "What are your thoughts on this?"
Since Frier has taken the initiative to ask, it indicates that East Africa isn’t completely indifferent. This detail greatly boosts Russell’s confidence, and he slightly curls his lips, saying unhurriedly: "Bring the map over here!"
Soon, Russell’s assistant unfolds a pre-prepared map on the table, which has already been marked with a range in red.
Russell points to the location of Dubai in a previous life and says, "Here is the Pirate Coast of the Persian Gulf. If the East African government can agree to our demands, we can carve out this place for East Africa."
Why Dubai? Because in the eyes of the British government in this era, Dubai is undoubtedly barren land. This can be seen from the name Dubai in the previous life.
There’s a saying that the name Dubai stems from Persian, meaning the larva of locusts. With locusts prevalent in the Arab regions, East Africans surely aren’t unfamiliar with them, as desert locusts are also one of the main pests tackled domestically in East Africa.
Last century’s greatest locust disaster even caused a drop of over forty percent in the Northwest region’s crop yield in East Africa. However, with the increasing population in East Africa and the improvement of the control system, the probability of locust disasters occurring has now been reduced by over sixty percent. Furthermore, as time progresses, East Africa’s methods of dealing with locusts have significantly increased, to the point where desert locusts scarcely pose a threat anymore.
Currently, East Africa faces large-scale desert locust disasters by addressing the scale of locust migration in the Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula regions.
Dubai, in the 19th to early 20th century, is essentially a place rich in sand. Coupled with the ominous name of "locust larva," it truly counts as a barren land.
Therefore, Frier frowns and says to Russell: "Ambassador Russell, are you sure you’re not joking with us? You wouldn’t be unaware that East Africa is quite familiar with the lands of the Persian Gulf region, right? This area is probably not even suitable for human habitation!"
Russell naturally knows this point, otherwise the British government wouldn’t be so "generous." It’s because they know Dubai and its surrounding areas are barren that the British government would offer this place for negotiation with East Africa.
He says: "Don’t just see it as a desert, but its location is indeed within the Persian Gulf region. If East Africa controls this spot, it would mean having a stable foothold in the Persian Gulf region. We British have never been so kind to a country!"
Unaware of its true value, Frier inwardly chuckles, realizing he shouldn’t hold any expectations from the British government.
Frier says with ironic undertones: "Rather than a foothold, the water supply here would probably be a major issue, with no condition for agricultural development at all. Such a small place, it’s unlikely even to accommodate a hundred soldiers. Your country’s sincerity certainly broadens my horizons. If it’s about this region, then our East African Navy would be willing to reduce a few hundred tonnes to express our East African sincerity."
A few hundred tonnes in the current naval scale is negligible, which precisely expresses the psychological expectation of East African government officials regarding the value of Dubai.
Naturally, Russell cannot accept this outcome. If it merely reduces a few hundred tonnes, it basically means no outcome at all. After all, the standard tonnage of strong world navies is above two hundred thousand tonnes, where thousands are used as units of measure.
Russell says: "All issues can be resolved through negotiations. If you are not satisfied with this result, we can talk further. If we can offer chips that satisfy our country, then it’s no matter to cede the entire Pirate Coast (equivalent to the former United Arab Emirates) to East Africa."
Why choose this place by Britain? It’s not solely because it’s barren; after all, the entire Persian Gulf coast is mostly desert, with very few lands suitable for farming.
The most important reason is that the Pirate Coast doesn’t carry significant strategic value in British strategy. Take Kuwait, for example, a natural connector to the Ottoman Empire or Tsarist Russia’s coveted Persian Gulf outlet; Britain certainly won’t hand it over to East Africa. As for Bahrain and Qatar colonies in the Persian Gulf, they are more cherished by Britain, since as an island nation, Britain places great value on islands.
