Chapter 1291: Indian Temptation

When it comes to East Africa itself, there is also evidence. For example, the East African Air Force. When the East African Air Force was first established, it was only established as an aviation unit to cooperate with the army. In recent years, it has officially become an independent service, alongside the East African Army and Navy.

All in all, the East African Navy has shouldered the important task of becoming an important naval force in the world from the beginning, and is an indispensable and important link in the development strategy of East African countries.

As for such an important naval force that aims to compete for world maritime hegemony, what it obviously lacks most is historical heritage and overseas bases.

Freer said: "During the South African Naval War, the British Navy crossed the Socotra Islands and attacked Mogadishu, our country's northernmost port at the time."

"Later, when the British Navy withdrew to India, it also used the Seychelles Islands as a transit point. At that time, the naval strength of East Africa was still weak, so we could only stop and retreat to the mainland. However, the existence of the Seychelles Islands still gave the Imperial Navy a powerful pressure."

How can you allow others to snore and sleep on the side of the couch? The British who control these strategic locations in the Indian Ocean have the strength to make it difficult for the East African Indian Ocean Fleet to sleep peacefully.

Of course, Ambassador Thomson naturally did not believe Freer's words. East Africa was afraid of Britain, but Britain in turn regarded East Africa as its biggest rival in the Indian Ocean. East Africa was worried about Britain attacking the east coast of East Africa, and Britain was also afraid of East Africa's surprise attack on Bombay Port. !

After all, in the eyes of the British, India is their thorn in the side. It is completely unnecessary and not worthwhile to compromise the safety of India with East Africa.

Ambassador Thomson said: "I still remember the naval battle in East Africa vividly. The battle between your country and Britain at that time can be said to have shocked the whole world."

Although the outcome of the East African Naval War was a tie, the fact that the East African Navy, which had just started at that time, could tie with the Royal Navy really surprised many countries and media.

After all, there is almost no country in the world that can tie with the British Royal Navy, and there is no country that can defeat the British Royal Navy, or even dare to say defeat the British Royal Navy.

As powerful as the German Navy, which is currently the second largest naval force in the world, they dare not say that it can challenge the British Royal Navy. It is still blocked in the Baltic Sea. Other countries, let alone comparing with the British Royal Navy, just want to catch up with the strength of the German Navy. It's all very difficult.

Although the German Navy has not had a very impressive record so far, being able to compete with the British Royal Navy in the Atlantic Ocean is enough for other countries to take a high look.

As for the naval battles in East Africa, they were already recorded in the ironclad era of the last century. Today, there is no objective standard for the combat effectiveness of the East African navy.

There is a big difference between naval strength and combat effectiveness. For example, the U.S. Navy is very powerful on paper and has more than a dozen battleships, but it lacks advanced cruisers.

I don’t know what the U.S. Navy’s thinking is. Although battleships are the main battleships of the navy today, it is impossible to do everything personally. For tasks such as reconnaissance, cruise, escort, and expulsion in naval battles, using battleships is more wasteful.

The current battle between Britain and Germany is a test of each other between the reconnaissance fleets led by battlecruisers, with the main force being light cruisers.

This also led to the poor performance of the U.S. Navy in the early days of World War I in the previous life, which was only overshadowed by the victory of the war.

The development of the East African navy is relatively conservative. In addition to attempts and explorations in submarine and aircraft carrier operations, East Africa is currently focusing on the United Kingdom and Germany in the development of conventional ships, so the East African navy is large and comprehensive.

However, it is difficult to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the East African Navy. From the East African Naval War to the present, the East African Navy has had no actual combat experience for more than 20 years.

Thomson continued: "We in France obviously have no way to solve the difficulties your country faces in the Indian Ocean. After all, Mr. Freer, these strategic places you mentioned are all under the control of the British."

Freer sighed and said: "This is natural. After all, the British power in the Indian Ocean is deeply rooted. We in East Africa are just a latecomer country. We naturally have some shortcomings, and it is difficult to solve them. Especially in the Indian Ocean, there is a lack of stability. naval base."

Ambassador Thomson: "In this case, although we in France do not have much capability in the Indian Ocean, we still have some barren land. I don't know if we can help your country."

As soon as these words came out, Ambassador Thomson truly handed over his trump card. He had been talking to Freer for so long to pave the way for the next transaction.

Freer also asked very cooperatively: "I wonder if your country can help East Africa? If it can solve our problems, East Africa will definitely reward your country."

Ambassador Thomson said: "Your Excellency Freer also knows that France has no sense of presence in the Indian Ocean today, and because our country has now shifted its attention to other regions, such as Europe, West Africa and Indochina, the empire attaches even more importance to the Indian Ocean. Weak."

"We have several colonies in India, and we are willing to trade with your country for the Indian stronghold in the east, and we are willing to sell Rodrigues Island in Mauritius to your country."

"The three lands of the empire in India are local governance, Yanan and Garigar. I think your country should be interested in these three places."

"As for Rodrigues Island, I think you should be quite familiar with it. It is located to the east of the main island of Mauritius."

France had fought with Britain in India for more than 50 years, but in the end only five colonies were left. In addition to the three mentioned by Ambassador Thomson, there is another one, namely Mahé on the west coast of India and Chandarnagor in northeast India.

Obviously, even if they wanted to bring East Africa into India and clash with Britain, the French did not forget to keep a hand in India, leaving a colonial outpost on the east and west coasts respectively.

After all, the French also covet India! But they don't have the strength to compete with the British. In this case, it is better to let East Africa disrupt the situation in India, and France may be able to fish in troubled waters in the future.

The two colonies left are the last hope of French India. Of course, there is another consideration for handing over the other three colonies to East Africa, that is, these three places are relatively close.

After all, Britain has been operating in India for a long time, and France is afraid that East Africa will not play a role in India. These three relatively close colonies can make it easier for East Africa, which has just entered India, to confront Britain.

As for Rodrigues Island, it is a volcanic island about 500 kilometers away from Mauritius, but there are still conditions for development here. In the past, there were nearly 40,000 people living on this island, and there were conditions for building a port on the island.

It’s just that in the past, France paid more attention to the development of the two islands of Reunion and Mauritius, so Rodrigues Island was relatively neglected.

Judging from the chips thrown by the French, Rodrigues Island is the most attractive to Freer. If this island is controlled, it means that East Africa has a stable foothold in the waters east of Madagascar.

In fact, France did not want to give this island to East Africa at first. Instead, they wanted to negotiate with several islands where the French southern and Antarctic territories were located in the past.

However, in the end, the French government gave up this idea because France knew very well that these islands had no value, because these islands were close to Antarctica, completely uninhabited, and could not be lived in for a long time.

So it would be better to take Rodrigues Island, which has development conditions and is not too important, to show more sincerity.

Freer was secretly delighted by the generosity of the French government. Although he knew that the bait thrown by France was poisonous, Freer was not worried at all.

The trap set by the French was mainly the three colonial outposts in India, hoping to make trouble for the British in the future. East Africa would naturally not be afraid of Britain, especially within the Indian Ocean.

So Freer believed that the French conditions could be agreed. Of course, Freer would not use any rhetoric such as "guarantee of non-participation in the war" that was related to the core interests of East African countries to achieve these conditions.