Chapter 1088 The strategic significance of the Red Sea route

Of course, this is uncertain. After all, a country has many issues to consider, especially a country like Britain that holds world hegemony. If cooperation is possible, East Africa will naturally be willing to accept this result. If the goal cannot be achieved, East Africa will not care too much. After all, East Africa has been accustomed to it for more than ten years.

Ernst continued, "The last item, which is also one of the key points of this negotiation with the UK, is to obtain an overseas base in the Indian Ocean region from the UK as much as possible. This is an important part of the Empire's grand strategy for India. If this goal can be achieved through this round of negotiations, even if it costs more, it is acceptable."

Merck frowned and asked, "Your Highness, the British will not agree to this, right? Even if the UK agrees, they will not give us a good place from their own hands."

Ernst nodded and said, "I have also considered this, but there is no way. Along the Indian Ocean coast, except for us and France, other areas are almost directly ruled or indirectly influenced by the UK."

"So as a country with the Indian Ocean as its core interest, if we want to expand our influence in the Indian Ocean, the best way is to achieve this through negotiations with the UK."

"As for whether the UK is willing, the initiative of this matter is in our hands. If they want us to compromise in the navy, the UK will naturally show sincerity. As for whether it is a bad place, it depends on the next bargaining with the British."

East African officials also agreed with what Ernst said. There is nothing that cannot be discussed. If it cannot be discussed, it means that East Africa has not developed enough.

Siweitt said: "Britain's power along the Indian Ocean coast can be roughly divided into four parts, first the Red Sea coast, then the Persian Gulf coast, then India, and finally the South China Sea region. Of course, Australia is also among them."

"As the core colonies of Britain, India and Australia must not be targeted. As for the other directions, only the Persian Gulf coast may have some possibilities."

The South China Sea region is related to the world-class sea channel of the Strait of Malacca. The British will definitely not let go, and the Red Sea coast, the British dare not let East Africa in at all.

For a long time, the main trade route between East Africa and Europe has been realized through the Red Sea. Although the economy of the west coast of East Africa has developed in recent years, the most important Central and Eastern European market in East Africa cannot be avoided geographically. Two nodes in the Mediterranean are the Strait of Gibraltar controlled by the United Kingdom and the Red Sea route.

Although the forces around the Red Sea route are complicated, the key Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are under British control.

Assuming that East Africa controls a stable channel in and out of the Mediterranean, it will definitely be a disaster for Britain's strategic layout, so the British will definitely not let go.

As for the reason, it is very clear if you think about it briefly. If East Africa controls the passage to and from the Mediterranean Sea, East Africa can maintain independence in trade and exchanges with European countries, and bypass the United Kingdom.

Looking at the world today, in addition to East Africa, there are Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These three countries all have German attributes. Germany is a genuine German country, and Austria has a high voice in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As for East Africa, although it is not pure enough due to the national structure, it is also an indisputable German country.

If East Africa controls the Red Sea route and can freely enter and exit the Mediterranean region, the German countries in the world can be connected from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean and then to the African continent.

In today's increasingly tense world situation, other countries certainly do not want a "monster" to appear. If this "monster" is born, it may divide the entire world into two.

Moreover, if East Africa or Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire controls the Red Sea route, it means that the European situation is out of control. East Africa is already huge in size and controls a large number of strategic materials in the world, such as food, cotton, rubber, and various minerals.

If the German countries merge, after receiving the continuous material support from East Africa, the war potential of Germany and Austria-Hungary will directly rise to a higher level, and almost all the war materials will not be lacking. With the abundant military virtues of Germany, I am afraid that the European pattern will change.

For this scene, the East African government naturally "fantasized" about it. If it could control the Red Sea route, East Africa would not mind giving Germany and Austria-Hungary some confidence in the war.

On the other hand, the British must also know the importance of the Red Sea route, and the British government must also see what kind of harm the Red Sea route would cause to Britain if it fell into the hands of the German countries.

Only by firmly controlling the Red Sea route in the hands, the German countries will not merge, and a "monster" across Europe and Africa will not be released by the British. This is not only the British idea, but also France, Tsarist Russia, etc.

At least in recent years, the expenditures of Britain and France on the Red Sea coast have increased significantly, and it goes without saying who the two countries are guarding against is East Africa.

Of course, the characteristics of the Red Sea route also made the British and French blockade of East Africa relatively successful. The Red Sea has two vital points, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. No matter which one is controlled, East Africa cannot rush into the Mediterranean.

If the most critical moment comes, the British and French governments are fully capable of directly blowing up the Suez Canal and paralyzing this major world trade route.

The double insurance of the Red Sea route has greatly improved Britain's ability to control the Red Sea route. The navy can hardly play a big role in the narrow space of the Red Sea, and it is also very difficult for East Africa to seize control of the Red Sea route from land. The main reason is that land transportation on both sides of the Red Sea is really difficult. Not only is the terrain complex, but the desert is everywhere, which is not suitable for large-scale troops to carry out activities. Britain and France can effectively support Egypt and other Red Sea coastal countries through the convenient conditions of the Mediterranean.

In fact, as long as Egypt is not in the hands of East Africa, Britain and France have a lot of ways to deal with East Africa. Of course, the premise of the above assumption is that East Africa stands in the German camp.

In fact, if East Africa really joins the European war, it is really hard to say what the direction of the war will be, but East Africa obviously does not want to start a war easily, especially in the current stage of rapid economic development in East Africa.

Moreover, the risk of participating in the war is not something East Africa can bear. If it wins, it will be fine, but if it loses, East Africa will be uncomfortable.

In fact, this is also a pessimistic attitude towards the war within the East African government. East Africa's current geographical location and national strength are naturally not suitable for participating in the European war.

The main sea routes are controlled by the British. It is very difficult for East Africa to seize these sea routes from the British. If East Africa fails to seize the sea routes within the scheduled time and Germany and Austria-Hungary are defeated, East Africa may face the risk of being surrounded and beaten.

Although Germany showed the momentum of one against five in the First World War in the previous life, who dares to say that Germany in this time and space still has such luck? Luck is also important to war. What if Germany fails in advance because of a mistake in a major battle!

This is not impossible. The First World War in the previous life was a stalemate. Germany and France stabilized the situation on the front line, which turned Germany and France into a meat grinder. This stalemate shows that Germany does not actually have a crushing advantage over France in military terms.

Of course, in addition to these factors, East Africa mainly considers that the United States and Russia may pick peaches behind the scenes.

There is no need to say much about the United States. Its ideas are almost the same as those of the current East African government. The general idea is to wait and see first. In Ernst's view, Russia's performance in the past was also an unstable factor. Although Russia withdrew from the war due to an internal coup, this does not mean that Russia is incapable of rejoining. After all, if Britain and France are driven crazy, they can promise benefits that the new Russian regime cannot easily refuse.