Chapter 1108: Chapter 117: The East-Britain Reconciliation Treaty
Of course, at this moment, Russell still felt quite pleased in his heart. He was not afraid of East Africa asking for too much regarding the Pirate Coast; he was only afraid that East Africa might overlook the Pirate Coast.
In essence, Russell’s mindset was aligned with the officials from East Africa. The British government was more aware than the East African officials of the value of the Pirate Coast. The reason the British government directly chose the Pirate Coast as a bargaining chip was that, in their eyes, the Pirate Coast held the least value.
Although the British government was the sovereign over the many tribes of the Pirate Coast, it had no real governance there. Currently, the Pirate Coast was also known by another name, "Truce States."
The Truce States could also be referred to as the Truce State Alliance, a coalition facilitated by the UK in the early 19th century to stabilize the region and curb the development of piracy in the Persian Gulf Region.
After all, once the British secured dominance over the Persian Gulf Region, the primary trade activities on the Gulf were conducted by British merchant ships, and the rampant piracy in the Pirate Coast area adversely affected British interests. Piracy was essentially the main economic livelihood for many tribes on the Pirate Coast at that time.
Without stabilizing the local political landscape, the UK wouldn’t even be able to find criminals to punish. Thus, they forcibly united the various tribes on the Pirate Coast into a political entity. This way, the British government could identify those responsible for Persian Gulf piracy, ensuring there was somewhere to lodge complaints if British merchant ships were plundered.
This political entity was the "Truce States," which was akin to the predecessor of the modern United Arab Emirates and served as a transitional form of semi-national governance.
This also shows that Britain’s initial colonization of the Pirate Coast was, in a sense, "just." Though fundamentally aimed at protecting British interests, it indeed greatly enhanced the safety of the Persian Gulf’s shipping routes.
Of course, as a result, the British investment locally outweighed the returns, leading them to discard this "burden" onto East Africa without any psychological burden on the British government’s part.
Russell, holding back his joy, said to Frier, "If East Africa wants to bring the entire Pirate Coast under its influence, that’s naturally fine, provided that the East African Navy must be limited to what the UK considers a reasonable scope."
The discussion ultimately returned to the issue of the navy. For the British government, as long as the East African government kept its navy within any reasonable margin set by the UK, the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans wouldn’t become East Africa’s backyard any time soon.
Currently, what the UK lacks most is time and effort. So the best outcome would be to stabilize East Africa in the short term.
East Africa views the Indian Ocean as a core interest, and so does the UK. After the United States became independent, the UK directed almost all of its overseas investments towards the India colony.
Frier said, "Regarding the scale of the navy, I must stress that the conditions proposed by the UK are too harsh. Even with the Pirate Coast trade as a foundation, we cannot accept the original conditions put forward by your country."
The barren land of the Pirate Coast can’t win over the East African government. It’s like the UK using the Nigeria Colony to demand Germany to limit the High Seas Fleet; the German government would never agree, as Germany desires all of Britain’s overseas territories.
Russell was prepared for Frier’s remarks since he never believed East Africa would obediently accept the UK’s conditions just with the Pirate Coast, a "barren land" as bait.
Russell said, "The navy issue can be discussed slowly. Since East Africa can’t accept our British proposal and we also can’t accept your navy development plans, why not find a compromise?"
Frier did not directly refute Russell’s suggestion, so Russell continued, "Our initial proposal was five hundred thousand tons, but East Africa aims to surpass the navies of the US, Germany, and France, which means at least over eight hundred thousand tons."
"So let’s compromise: as long as the total tonnage of the East African Navy is limited to under six hundred and fifty thousand tons, this ensures it doesn’t lag too far behind other nations’ navies, and remains above the Japanese Navy, sufficient to maintain East Africa’s interests."
In Russell’s view, six hundred and fifty thousand tons were sufficient for East Africa to maintain the status of a great power navy, placing it just between Japan and France, ranking the East African Navy among the world’s top five.
Naturally, that’s the surface level, but that lacks a crucial precondition: that other nations’ navies don’t develop further.
Frier surely noticed this point, so he said to Russell, "That’s impossible. While our East African Navy is developing, the navies of other countries around the world are also rapidly developing. Just take the Japanese Navy, whose annual tonnage increases by several tens of thousands. In four or five years, wouldn’t their navy also exceed six hundred and fifty thousand tons or even more?"
"Similarly, countries like the US, Germany, and France, as well as your navy, have an annual growth rate much more exaggerated than Japan’s. Currently, the US, German, and French navies all have tonnages over eight hundred thousand, and in a few years, one million tons might become the baseline, so six hundred and fifty thousand tons are insufficient to meet our navy’s needs in the background of the naval arms race."
With Frier’s words, the negotiations fell into deadlock again. Russell could only take another step back, "If that’s the case, then we shall adopt a different plan, not solely using a fixed naval tonnage as the standard, but rather measuring it by proportion."
"Firstly, the East African Navy certainly can’t exceed the French Navy. We’ll set a baseline first. The current total tonnage of the French Navy is over eight hundred thousand tons, so the East African Navy should only reach eighty percent of the French Navy; we’ll use the French Navy as a benchmark, and for the next decade, the East African Navy must not exceed this standard."
In the second tier, the French Navy is the most lacking in future potential, so Russell believed that using the French Navy as the standard, given the current development of the French Navy, it couldn’t compete with the UK, US, or Germany for a long time, making it advantageous for the UK.
Frier was in no hurry to decline, considering it at length. He thought this proposal was still decent. After all, eighty percent of the French Navy was sufficient to support East Africa’s position as a great power, although there were some details Frier deemed unreasonable.
He said, "Firstly, we can’t accept this ten-year timeframe, at most five years. If the French Navy encounters unexpected events in the future, wouldn’t this become a shackle on our naval development?"
"Secondly, we also require that it not be based solely on France. We have demands concerning other countries too. For instance, the Japanese Navy should not exceed East Africa’s, and if it does, we’ll have to revise our naval development plan."
Concerning Frier’s second point, Russell didn’t consider it a significant issue since an overly powerful Japanese Navy indeed posed a substantial threat to the UK as well.
But regarding Frier’s first point, Russell was not quite agreeable, so he continued to negotiate terms with Frier.
...
After two months of back-and-forth, in March 1911, East Africa and the UK finally ironed out the "East-UK Reconciliation Treaty."
Firstly, the UK and East Africa reconciled politically, promoting the development of diplomatic relations between both countries and abolishing mutual economic sanctions, deepening the economic cooperation between the two nations.
Next, the UK government, by providing parts of the overseas markets and the Pirate Coast (United Arab Emirates) as conditions, secured non-aggressive expansion of the East African Navy for the next five years. The East African Navy should be maintained at eighty percent of the French Navy’s scale. Based on the 1911 French Navy’s scale, this means the current total tonnage of the East African Navy shouldn’t exceed six hundred and fifty thousand tons.
Should the French Navy’s total tonnage exceed eight hundred thousand tons in the future, the East African Government, under British supervision, might adjust its naval scale, and the total tonnage of the East African Navy should not fall below that of the Japanese Navy.
Through these negotiations, both the East African and British governments received results they considered fairly satisfactory. Of course, Ernst found it particularly satisfying on the East African side, as it secured a stable oil and gas resource base with relatively little effort, addressing East Africa’s future energy shortages.
