Chapter 1412 - 6: Naval Ratios (2)

Chapter 1412: Chapter 6: Naval Ratios (2)

Traitor! This is the sentiment in the hearts of both the United States and Japan, after all, theoretically speaking, East Africa, the United States, and Japan belong to the "non-European" circle, and the Three Kingdoms should stand together.

Now, East Africa proposes to cooperate with the so-called naval limitation idea by the United Kingdom, putting the United States and Japan in a rather passive position.

After all, global discourse power is divided according to strength, but an awkward point is that the East African Navy happens to rank second or third in the world, or is tied with Germany.

When two second-level naval countries in the global scale both don’t oppose the UK’s suggestion, other countries will only become more passive, as this equals to the top three naval great powers reaching a unified opinion.

Especially the United States, actually the strength of the United States Navy is not far below that of Germany or East Africa; at least in terms of naval scale it is so, but this does not change the reality that the U.S. Navy is now ranked fourth.

The Americans are well aware that first, the United Kingdom will definitely obtain the largest share of the world naval quota, there is no doubt about this, and next, the main competitors of the United States are Germany and East Africa, but Germany has clearly withdrawn from naval-level competition, leaving East Africa as the competitor of the United States.

However, the performance of East Africans is evidently forming some sort of tacit understanding with the UK, causing American representatives to feel very uneasy.

Secretary Henry had to step forward and say: "Prime Minister David, naturally, the United States also supports restraining the blind development and expansion of the navy, but as a two-ocean country and a great power in world trade, our interests must be effectively protected."

Obviously, besides Russia, all major European countries and East Africa reached some sort of unspoken agreement, and the consensus reached by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, and East Africa is evidently not something that the United States can contend with, at least on the surface.

Thus, the United States certainly cannot stubbornly oppose "the international community" and can only maximize the protection of its national interests.

Prime Minister David said, "Naturally so, just like East Africa, the United States holds an important position in international maritime affairs."

The UK putting the United States and East Africa together is naturally aimed at balancing the naval forces of the two countries, thereby easing the UK’s burden and pressure; this has always been the British typical maneuver, which means the UK favors balancing naval power between the US and East Africa, but clearly on the premise that it does not threaten the standing of the British Royal Navy.

Prime Minister David’s words reassured the Americans, allowing Secretary Henry to breathe a sigh of relief.

Nonetheless, even though Secretary Henry took a breath of relief, deep inside he remains dissatisfied with the UK, after all, the US and Britain are supposed "brothers" in the same trench, yet Britain opts to secretly cooperate with East Africa.

Although Secretary Henry has no concrete evidence, from the behavior of all European nations and East Africa, one can see a glimpse of a ’pattern’; the few major powers appear overly "harmonious" at the conference.

Luckily the outcome is favorable, since Prime Minister David has stated that the US and East Africa are equally important, the United States should theoretically receive a similar naval share.

This is a status that both satisfies the United States and leaves it somewhat dissatisfied; from an objective perspective, it’s a fact that East Africa’s naval scale is slightly stronger than America’s, so the US ended up with the same proportion as East Africa, and even profited a bit.

Nevertheless, the United States doesn’t see it this way; if East Africa were replaced by France or Germany, Americans wouldn’t feel uncomfortable in their hearts, but what kind of country is East Africa?

East Africa’s history doesn’t even compare to that of the United States, before East Africa, Americans could even label themselves as "an ancient civilization."

United Europe places the US and East Africa in the "upstart" category, but from America’s perspective, East Africa is the true "upstart," hence, from a historical heritage standpoint, Americans feel toward East Africa as European countries feel toward other regions, that is, a sense of superiority.

Yet now, America considers itself "superior to East Africa," but the Brits lightly place the US at the same status with East Africa, which naturally stirs discontent within the Americans.

However, it is undeniable that East Africa indeed equals the US on a level of strength, so Secretary Henry’s dissatisfaction cannot be openly expressed, making him very uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, compared to the US, Japan feels even more uncomfortable.

Prime Minister David said: "Japan, you are the only ones left to make a statement now, will Japan be willing to contribute to world peace, and support the proposal of the international community?"

Japanese representative Kato Tomosaburo said with a somewhat difficult expression: "Of course, however, like the UK, we are an island nation, and within the Sea of Japan have many practical interests that require maintenance, thus the imperial navy can’t be greatly reduced."

Japan is naturally the least eager to cut the naval scale, having chosen the path of militarism, without a powerful armament, how will the Empire achieve the goal of invading other regions?

Prime Minister David said: "Japan need not worry too much; Japan is an important force in the East Asia waters, so we support the Japanese Navy maintaining a reasonable scale, playing a part in stabilized East Asia."

The UK’s plan is straightforward, that Japan must hold sufficient military power to curb the expansion of the United States and East Africa in the Pacific Ocean.