Chapter 1000: The Anglo-Japanese Nanyang Treaty

  Chapter 980 – The Anglo-Japanese Nanyang Secret Treaty

A blessing in disguise, politics is sometimes so comical. Originally, the British government had misgivings about supporting the Japanese, worrying that it was a bad idea and would not be able to recoup its investment costs.

However, after the Holy Roman Empire supported the Spanish, the British government had no choice. If they didn’t do something, there would be no place for them in the South Seas region.

Britain did not have much interest in the South Seas region, even if it was squeezed out of the seemingly not much to lose. However, things cannot be taken at face value.

If you open the map, you will know that the South Seas region is stuck between the Far East and India. Once squeezed out, Britain’s hegemony in the Far East will be shaken.

Of course, they had another option – Australia. The problem with this is that it’s another big detour!

Britain couldn’t afford to be tossed around. The Royal Navy’s inability to navigate through the Suez Canal was stressful enough on its own, and another detour would have made life impossible.

In this context, Britain can only introduce external forces, balancing the forces of the South Seas region, to ease their own pressure.

……

At the same time when the Spaniards arrived at the port of New Frankfurt, Ito Hirobumi, on behalf of the Japanese government, and George, the British Foreign Secretary, signed the Anglo-Japanese Secret Treaty of the South Seas in London.

The treaty provided:

1. Both parties to the treaty recognized to each other the right to protect their own interests in the South Seas, and the right to intervene if Japan’s “special interests” in the South Seas were threatened by other countries.

2. In the event that one of the contracting parties fought against a third country to protect these interests, the other party was to maintain strict neutrality and provide assistance to the extent of its ability.

3. If one of the Contracting Parties is attacked by two or more States, the other Party shall render military assistance.

4. In times of peace, the navies of the two States shall act in conjunction with each other in order to maintain their superiority in the waters of the South and Far East Oceans.

……

Supplementary agreement: In view of the needs of the war between Japan and the West, Britain sold three battleships, five cruisers, seven destroyers, and a number of attached warships to the Japanese government.

The treaty is valid for 5 years. After the expiration of this period, the two countries decided whether to renew the contract or not, depending on the circumstances.

In addition to the different targets, this Anglo-Japanese secret treaty is basically a replica of the “Anglo-Japanese Alliance” in the original time and space. The only difference is that the situation in the South China Sea region is a little more complicated, so that the British and Japanese are not willing to publicize the news of the alliance.

Don’t look at the Royal Navy is the world’s first, really if you talk about fleet placement speed, in the South China Sea area they can’t compare to the Holy Roman Empire.

The fleet of the two countries at the same time from the mainland, the Holy Roman Empire’s fleet at least half a month earlier, this is the strategic significance of the Suez Canal.

The only way to avoid this disadvantage was to station heavy forces. Theoretically, as long as the Royal Navy was twice the size of the Holy Roman Navy, it would be able to retain the advantage.

As long as the Royal Navy divided its forces into two and blocked the Strait of Gibraltar and the Red Sea, it would be able to lock the Shen Luo fleet in the Mediterranean bathtub.

After all, the Royal Navy’s combat power was much stronger, and with a comparable fleet size, the Shen Luo Navy was not yet their match.

Of course, this was only in theory. If you really want to do it in practice, you will find that half of the effect is not there.

The naval blockade was only effective against small countries, and in the face of this giant, the Royal Navy’s blockade would at most bring about some economic losses.

In addition to being able to anger the Vienna government, so that the Shenluo Empire to invest more power to build warships, simply can not play a deterrent role.

Although it couldn’t be won, Britannia likewise couldn’t be lost. With the power of the Royal Navy, it is inherently invincible.

The final result is that Britain will lose its colonies in Africa, and Shinra will most likely lose its colonies in the South Seas and the Americas.

Perhaps the two countries still have each other soaring air force, you and I bombing a bit. Maybe a few states along the coast of Shinra will also suffer a baptism of fire.

But all in all, both sides are big losers, and the winners will only be the eaters who are not involved.

In the context of not turning the other cheek, exposing the Anglo-Japanese secret pact, that would be forcing Holland and Spain to go and hug it out with Shinra.

Two against three the British felt the loss, while the Japanese were purely afraid to go to the hustle and bustle. Although both are powers, a power keeper like Spain and the Shinra Empire are not a species at all.

Really if the game collapsed, who dares to guarantee that the British must be reliable? In case people no matter what, a fleet directly killed to Tokyo, the Japanese government can not afford.

Even if the British government is willing to help, when the Royal Navy rushes over, it can only help collect the corpse.

Revenge, what’s the point?

With the Japanese Empire’s family’s wealth, once you lose, you will not be able to turn around, where is the future. You can’t expect the Holy Roman Empire to admit defeat and pay for the reconstruction of their navy, can you?

……

The Spaniards, who had just arrived at the harbor of New Frankfurt, were holding a celebration banquet at the moment. After so many days at sea, it was time to relax.

“Sir Witte, did Governor Chandler not come?”

Halfway through the banquet, Admiral Valkenhayn, the fleet commander, realized that there was still an important guest who hadn’t arrived.

Sir Vetter, who was the foreign affairs officer, smiled and replied, “I’m terribly sorry. His Excellency, the Governor, was unable to make it on short notice and asked me to pass on his apologies.”

The apology could be seen in his sincere smile. How could it not be what Admiral Valkenhayn needed.

Spain wanted to defeat the Japanese to recover the Philippine Islands without the support of the Austrian Viceroy of the South Seas. Governor Chandler’s avoidance was a clear sign that he did not want to get further involved in the Japan-West War.

Although the two countries were allies, it was still necessary to speak with interests between countries. The Vienna government was able to fulfill the previous treaty with Spain, and it was already very much a friend enough.

Want to get further support, that is what the Spanish government is willing to pay. Unfortunately, Spain’s family is too thin, simply can not afford to pay this price.

Otherwise, Spain would have already bribed the European countries to make the European Union pass a resolution ordering the Japanese to withdraw from the Philippine Islands.

Not to mention the Japanese government, even if it were the British government, it would have to think twice before facing the collective resolution of the European Union.

As a matter of fact, Spain was not without a chance. If Spain joined the Anti-French League before the Russians entered the war, it could definitely get the full support of the Anti-French League.

Unfortunately, the hesitation of the Spanish government was so slow that it entered the war one step behind the Russians, causing its value to plummet.

The status of a victorious nation was mixed, and the spoils of war were obtained, and then trying to get the Holy Roman Empire to help take back the Philippine Islands was clearly not enough.

After a short period of embarrassment, Admiral Valkenhayn immediately reacted and politely replied, “No matter, His Excellency the Governor’s day-to-day work is understandable. It’s just the matter of warship maintenance, I don’t know when it can start?

Sir Veit, you know. Our fleet came from the mainland and sailed tens of thousands of kilometers, and with another big battle coming up soon, the warships are in dire need of maintenance.”

Sailed tens of thousands of kilometers, the warships are only “maintenance”, not “repair”, enough to prove that the French warships are of high quality, but also proved that the Spanish Navy’s professional quality.

Compared to the original time and space of the miserable Russian fleet, the Spanish are now too lucky.

“The repair yards are ready to begin at any time. Only that this fleet of your country is so large in scale, I’m afraid that a single repair shop will not be able to complete the maintenance in a short period of time.

If you are in a hurry, I personally recommend spreading the fleet to multiple repair yards for maintenance. With our technical strength, if we separate them, it can be done in as little as a week.”

Money delivered to the door, it was a waste of time not to earn it. Whether it was providing logistical supplies or performing warship maintenance, it was all paid for.

Treating his customers, Sir Vet had always given the warmth of the sun. As long as the customer had money in their pockets, he would do everything possible to fulfill their needs.

As for the result of this war, it was not so important. As long as the government of Vienna was willing, even if the Spanish navy was wiped out, it could immediately give them a stronger fleet.

The same was true of the enemy. As long as the British were willing, no matter how great the Japanese losses were, they could likewise be replenished immediately.

In a sense, the key to deciding the victory of this Japan-West War was no longer on the battlefield, but in the game between the great powers.

Admiral Valkenhayn said joyfully, “Of course the faster the better, the Filipino people are still waiting for us to rescue them!”

Although he did not know that Britain and Japan had already hooked up, Admiral Valkenhayn still understood the reasoning of a long night’s sleep.

The Philippine Islands were a piece of treasure, and the countries that spied on it were not just the Japanese, almost every colonial empire had fantasized about it.

In the short term, everyone is still defaulting to the fact that the Philippine Islands are a Spanish colony, and due to political factors, it is inconvenient for all countries to make a move on the Philippine Islands.

But the situation would be different if time dragged on. Once the international community believed that Spain was incapable of reclaiming the Philippine Islands, then their ownership of the Philippine Islands would be gone.

With the change of ownership, the original political factors no longer existed, and there was no longer a burden for everyone to move their hands.

Especially the British and Austrians, both of whom were powerful enough to take the Philippine Islands from the Japanese, were on the alert in Valkenhein.

(End of chapter)