Chapter 1345 - 354: The Military Peninsula

Chapter 1345: Chapter 354: The Military Peninsula

Most imperialist countries operate this way, adept at using one group to control another, although outlier nations like the United States and East Africa, which engage in direct "genocide," are exceptions.

Altogether, the population of Qatar, including men, women, and children, is just over ten thousand people, with even fewer able-bodied adults, so the Governor of Batavia can feel at ease and confident in employing Qataris without worrying about any backlash.

Qataris in the Dutch East Indies are, arguably, an even rarer minority than the Dutch themselves, and the Arabs are known for being formidable fighters, or rather, in economically backward and impoverished areas, life tends to be cheaper.

The most ingenious aspect is that the faith of the Qataris aligns with most ethnic groups in the East Indies, and the Dutch find the mutual slaughter and consumption of these infidels quite satisfactory.

"Governor Van der Beek, you are free to arrange for these Qatari immigrants in any way you see fit, whether in Batavia or any part of the Dutch East Indies, as long as their basic living conditions are secured."

The person speaking with Van der Beek is Mel, the director of the East African diplomatic office in Batavia.

Although the Dutch East Indies Colony is just a Dutch colony, because Batavia can be regarded as an important regional center, a diplomatic office was specifically established in Batavia to resolve some minor diplomatic issues, such as commercial disputes involving East Africa or minor issues between East Africa and the Dutch East Indies.

This Qatari migration is not considered important for East Africa, so the matter has been handed over by higher authorities to the diplomatic office in Batavia.

Governor Van der Beek said, "Of course, Mr. Mel, I plan to arrange their residence in the outskirts of Batavia, just hoping these Qatari immigrants won’t feel dissatisfied about it."

Mel said, "That is obviously unlikely to happen. On one hand, the number of Qatari immigrants is small; on the other hand, the environment in Batavia is much better than in Qatar. From this perspective, the Qataris should thank your country for taking them in."

While Van der Beek and Mel were talking, the Qataris were also excitedly looking at this land. As Mel said, moving from Qatar to Batavia was like coming from hell to heaven for the Qataris.

The Qatari leader, Jasim, said to his people, "This is our new home now. Facts have proven that leaving Qatar was a very wise decision. Compared to the harsh and frigid land of our homeland, this place is simply paradise."

"In the future, if we can integrate into Batavia, our lives will only get better, and we will also stay away from the war in the Persian Gulf."

As the spokesperson for the Qataris, Jasim must ensure his authority among them. As the leader promoting the Qataris to leave their homeland, Jasim can only extol the benefits of this migration to unite the majority.

Meanwhile, the ordinary Qataris were whispering about this unfamiliar land.

"I really can’t believe that there’s a place like this in the world, teeming with life everywhere, instead of endless sand."

"There’s no lack of water here. As long as there’s water, everything else becomes a non-issue, whether it’s farming or herding; it can’t possibly be worse than staying in Qatar."

"The level of development here is low, just the extent of greenery, I wonder how much livestock it can support, but I haven’t seen the locals engaged in large-scale herding, which is really a waste of resources."

The tropical rainforest environment, called the "green desert," was truly unimaginable as a paradise to the ordinary people who have lived in Qatar for generations.

After all, the living conditions in Qatar were so harsh in the past that a small-scale tribal conflict could break out over a water source, and two herding families might come to blows over a patch of grassland. Any piece of grassland that could grow vegetation was an extremely precious resource in Qatar.

But upon arriving in Batavia, everything seemed to be depreciated. The land here was like it could squeeze out water, the entire city was enveloped in greenery, and the biggest survival obstacle that once plagued Qataris—water sources and green land—was completely resolved.

...

The Qataris had migrated to a "dreamland," leaving East Africa to exclusively enjoy the "harsh and frigid land" of the Qatari Peninsula.

First and foremost is the 37th Brigade, which will be permanently stationed in Qatar. After clearing out the Qatari population, to prevent the United Kingdom or forces like Bahrain from returning to Qatar, a military presence is necessary as a foundational safeguard.

Secondly, the navy has preliminarily planned to build a large military port in Doha for the Third Fleet.

Doha is very close to the former city of the Sani Clan, Bedha. In previous developments, as the city of Doha expanded, the two places were directly merged.

Although Bedha has an existing port and was the only external commercial trade port in Qatar, it cannot meet the needs of the East African Navy because the port depth of Bedha is only about three to four meters, incapable of handling large vessels.

Therefore, after an assessment, the Third Fleet chose Doha, the closest to Bedha, as a major anchorage bay for the Third Fleet.

The only drawback is the lack of drinkable water resources, but water can be piped in from Bedha.

According to the plan of the Third Fleet, once the Doha Port is completed, East Africa’s control over the Persian Gulf, especially the surrounding sea areas of the Beibu Gulf territory, will be significantly enhanced.

Due to the Qatari Peninsula’s extension into the Persian Gulf, it naturally becomes the Beibu Gulf’s territory’s natural bulwark, which was historically the United Arab Emirates. It particularly serves to separate the British Bahrain military bases from East Africa’s main territorial waters in the Beibu Gulf.

The Third Fleet’s plans for Qatar are not limited to this. They also intend to build two military ports on the northern and eastern coasts of Qatar, allowing the East African Navy to monitor the entire Persian Gulf Region from the Qatari Peninsula as the center from three directions.

However, constrained by the current economic situation and natural conditions in Qatar, achieving this goal is inherently challenging as Qatar has become a "deserted" place; there are no available workers to recruit locally, so construction and transformation in Qatar can only be undertaken by engineering personnel dispatched from East Africa.

Qatar is home to numerous bays, but a large part of them is silting up with mud. To make them usable and developable ports, dredging work is necessary.

Nonetheless, even with this, Qatar’s harbor conditions are much better than those along the coast of East Africa’s Beibu Gulf territory.

According to the plans of the Third Fleet, if the Doha Port is built, it will be the first military port of the Third Fleet capable of docking battleships and other large vessels.

Unlike previous centuries, East Africa currently does not need to consider Doha’s economic development, which also reduces demands for water sources and supplies.

Near the Doha Port, Bedha will become the headquarters location for the 37th Brigade. After all, it was the former "capital" of Qatar, and despite the poor infrastructure, it is the only place where the 37th Brigade can currently unpack and settle in.

As for Qatar, which borders the Beibu Gulf territory, Ernst does not plan to merge it into the Beibu Gulf territory. Historically, these two regions have been two separate countries, namely the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Ernst believes that keeping Qatar independent from the Beibu Gulf territory allows for the division of risk. In this way, even if either the Beibu Gulf territory or Qatar is lost, East Africa can still ensure a stable oil production base in the Persian Gulf Region.

Moreover, Ernst values Qatar’s military significance, intending to eventually develop it into the core military area of East Africa in the Persian Gulf by deploying land, sea, and air forces, turning it essentially into a military peninsula inserted into the Persian Gulf by East Africa.

On land, it can directly threaten the entire coastline of the Arabian Peninsula; in the air, Qatar can serve as a center to bring the entire coastline of the Persian Gulf countries within the strike range. Through its navy, it can monitor any potential threats to the interests of East African countries in the Persian Gulf.