Chapter 228 Fishermen’s Conflict

If the first two cabinets focused on domestic development, then starting from the third cabinet, Australia will also develop its international influence and look abroad to seek more power and influence.

1 Many artists and composers in Australasia collaborated to create the national anthem of the Kingdom of Australasia, "Australasia, Onward!" 》Officially born.

Although it is somewhat similar in name to the original historical Australian national anthem, the content is completely different.

Historically, Australia's national anthem represented the relaxation and beauty of Australia, which was far away from war and a paradise at that time.

The national anthem of Australasia, while praising the merits of the royal family and Arthur, encourages Australasians to work together to jointly push Australasia to the top of the world.

The national anthem is divided into two versions. One is a purely musical version, which is used to be played on solemn occasions of the country.

The version with lyrics is used on occasions such as National Day. Both versions have a common Easter egg, which is that at the end of the music, Arthur himself shouted: "Australasia, move forward!"

Such a national anthem perfectly suits Arthur's purpose of bringing all Australasians together and cultivating their national consciousness and national cohesion.

When such national anthems and music are played on solemn occasions, how many patriots and nationalists will be stirred in their hearts.

Especially when the national anthem is played and the slogan shouted by Arthur himself is played, it may cause many Australasians to shout uncontrollably.

1Lasia North Timor Sea.

The Timor Sea connects three countries and is an important transportation hub in northern Australasia.

This area is not only rich in oil and natural gas, it is also one of the areas in northern Australasia with natural fishing grounds.

This also results in this area often being filled with fishermen from three countries. Normally, fishermen from different regions and countries are basically unrelated to each other. Fishermen from the Dutch East Indies are located in the northwest, and fishermen from Portuguese Timor are located in the northeast. , while Australasian fishermen are located in the south.

But as the southern hemisphere enters winter (the season in the southern hemisphere is opposite to that in the northern hemisphere, the location of the natural fishing ground will also shift, generally speaking, it will shift a certain distance to the north.

Of course, the specific deviation depends on the movements of fish schools, and these fish schools are not restricted by humans. This also causes fishermen around the Timor Sea to be affected to a certain extent every year.

Judging from the previous situation, it is generally the fishermen in Australasia who suffer more. After all, after the fishing grounds were moved to the north, they were geographically closer to the Dutch East Indies and Portuguese Timor.

But since the last pirate incident, the national pride of Australasians has been mobilized, and their recognition of the royal family and the country has become higher.

In the past, Australasian fishermen did their duty, and even if the fish caught would be reduced, they would basically not get too close to the waters of other countries.

But now that winter has entered, Australasian fishermen have gradually spread further north, past Katje Island and Ashmore Reef in northwest Australasia, and have come to the exclusive areas of the Dutch and Portuguese.

Such outrageous behavior naturally caused dissatisfaction among some Dutch and Portuguese people.

We are all fishermen living nearby, and we usually just go about our duties. Now that our fishing area is occupied, isn't this a disguised deprivation of people and money?

For fishermen, the daily catch of fish sustains their livelihood and is the most fundamental means for them to survive.

Some people may be able to hold it back, but among these people there are also some who have a hot temper, and they just pick up the guy and start doing it.

The initial momentum could be contained, but this simple conflict has gradually evolved into a conflict between fishermen from three countries in the area.

It would be okay if it was a larger fishing boat, as it would still ensure your own peace.

Especially for small fishing boats, not only will their own fishing be damaged by fishing boats from other countries, but some vicious attacks have even occurred.

Regardless of the reaction of the Dutch East Indies and Portuguese Timor, a series of fishermen's conflicts attracted great attention from the Australasian government.

The government also held an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with these conflicts.

Soon, Arthur conveyed his order, asking the government to call on the fishermen to exercise restraint among the people, but secretly supported more immigrants to go further north in the Timor Sea.

Common people may not understand this intention, but smart people in the government have already seen through it.

Although the fishermen were asked to exercise restraint on the surface, they secretly sent more immigrants to invade the fishing areas further north, with the purpose of arousing the anger of the Dutch and Portuguese. new˙ɔoɯ

If the Dutch and Portuguese took the initiative to provoke this conflict, Australasia would have more means at its disposal.

1. The first conflict between fishermen officially broke out.

The cause of the matter was that the fishermen of Portuguese Timor were not satisfied with the rich harvest of Australasian fishermen, so they became jealous and secretly provoked Australasian fishing boats.

After enduring to no avail, the Australasian fishermen finally decided to fight back with words and actions.

Because of the emotional conflict between the two parties, the Portuguese eventually became angry and chose to ram the fishing boat. After the fishing boat approached, they attacked the Australasian fishermen with native guns.

The Australasian who was attacked was seriously injured. Although his life was not in danger, he still needed treatment at a great cost and may even be disabled.

After the successful attack, the Portuguese robbed the Australasian fishermen of their harvest and left insulting words before leaving in a swaggering manner.

In the end, the seriously injured fisherman was discovered by the Australasian patrol fleet, and he was lucky enough to save his life.

Of course, what started the whole thing was the official line from Australasia, and it was published in the Victoria newspaper and the Australasian Daily News.

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But how true the specific details of the incident are may only be known by those who have actually experienced the conflict.

But in any case, this conflict, which seemed to only victimize Australasians, did arouse public anger among Australasians.

Coupled with the fact that Arthur mobilized a lot of public opinion and David, the royal family's manager of European affairs, paved the way for public opinion in Europe, most people in Europe sided with Australasia in this conflict.

Although the Portuguese government provided an explanation and the Portuguese media also published the Portuguese official statement on the conflict process, they still could not resist the photos released by Australasia.

After the Australasian government produced live photos of the incident, all the Portuguese explanations seemed to others to be sophistry.

In fact, the outcome of the conflict was not much different from the Australasian statement, but the process was a bit different.

The so-called fishermen in this conflict were actually intelligence officers from the Royal Security Intelligence Service.

After many provocations from intelligence agents, the Portuguese fishermen became angry.

But the result Arthur wanted was achieved, and the European people also saw the explanation and real photos of the incident. Who cares about the real process of the incident.

In other words, because there are real photos and Australasia is in the position of a victim, the public is generally more willing to believe Australasia's statement.

At any time, ordinary people are very easy to guide. Public opinion has also become the best weapon to attack individuals and forces. As long as it has the support of public opinion, then what is right is also wrong, and what is wrong is also right.

1. After successfully rescuing the injured "fisherman" and getting the "real" conflict experience from his mouth, Arthur was "furious" and publicly stated that he wanted the Portuguese to give life to the injured fishermen and all The people give an explanation.

1. The Australasian government officially issued a notice to Portuguese Timor and the Kingdom of Portugal, requiring Portuguese Timor to hand over the murderer who attacked the Australasian fishermen, and to all Australasian fishermen affected by this conflict. Pay compensation.

At the same time, the three countries surrounding the Timor Sea should jointly delineate specific spheres of influence to avoid more conflicts.

In fact, Australasia's requirements are not high, at least from the perspective of Europeans who consider themselves "neutral".

Since the Portuguese made a mistake, it is appropriate to pay compensation.

It is more normal for the three countries to divide their own detailed spheres of influence, which can indeed avoid more conflicts.

But the problem is complicated. In order to win the public opinion war, Portugal loudly claimed that the fishermen were innocent in the country, and domestic parties also mobilized public opinion to express that the country should support the fishermen of Portuguese Timor.

It has only been a few days since the incident. If Portugal were to hand over the fishermen directly, wouldn't it be a direct slap in the face of the Portuguese government?

Of course, at the national level, losing face is not an important thing.

The difficulty is that the current situation in Portugal is not stable, and the domestic revolution has already begun.

Previous public opinion has made most Portuguese people support their country's fishermen. If the government rashly hands over the fishermen, what will the Portuguese think?

Did the fishermen really do something wrong? Or is it the government’s incompetence that forces it to unjustly accuse good people?

The current situation in Portugal is very unstable, and it all depends on the high-pressure policy of contemporary King Carlos I.

Carlos I was a relatively autocratic monarch, but the Kingdom of Portugal had already established a dual constitutional monarchy during the civil war decades ago.

The high-pressure policies adopted by Carlos I in Portugal and his severe suppression of revolutionary activities made many republican and democratic Portuguese very dissatisfied.

To what extent are you dissatisfied? In the original true history, Carlos I was assassinated by Republican radicals a year later. His son Manuel II had just been on the throne for two years when a revolution broke out and he was deposed from the throne by the Portuguese.

This also means that the Portuguese Braganza dynasty lasted only three years, and one can imagine the ups and downs within its king.

It was precisely because of the turbulent political environment in the country that Carlos I was a little undecided.

Backing down to the Australasians is a quick way to resolve the conflict, which may be detrimental to the country's face but at little real cost.

It's just that the angry Portuguese people may join the Revolutionary Party and decide to overthrow the government out of dissatisfaction.

This was unacceptable to Carlos I. In order to maintain the monarchy of the Kingdom of Portugal, and also to protect his own status, Carlos I directly abandoned the option of retreat.

The national government should be tougher and use real actions to safeguard the interests of its citizens. It can also win over the hearts of the people and increase the support of the monarchy in Portugal. This is a long-term plan of Carlos I.

To this end, Carlos I consulted many confidants, and finally unanimously decided to express Portugal's firm attitude to Australasia, that is, to protect the interests of the people and never retreat!

In fact, Carlos I also sent people to inquire implicitly about the British attitude.

After getting hints from the British that they would unite with France and mediate under certain circumstances, Carlos I firmed up his tough attitude towards Australasia.

In the view of Carlos I, Australasia was just a country that had just become independent from the colonies. The country's development relied heavily on resources and support from Europe.

Even if Portugal cannot compete with Australasia in Southeast Asia, Australasia will definitely retreat after Britain and France intervene.

As long as we can withstand the first wave of public opinion and gain a reputation for ourselves and our government as tough protectors of our citizens, we will have more diplomatic options in the future.

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