Chapter 1361 - 362: Preparing to Intervene in the European War

Chapter 1361: Chapter 362: Preparing to Intervene in the European War

And this is just within East Africa. It should be noted that when Punta Arenas was first established, East Africa and Chile did not have close ties; instead, Chile and the British were very close. After World War I ended, whether the United Kingdom would return to Chile is something to consider.

Industries in Punta Arenas, aside from government support from Chile, were mostly constructed by the British. Now, what Luanda City needs to do is phase out these industries and replace them with its own equipment and industries, securing more economic orders to create economic dependency of Punta Arenas on Luanda City.

However, to persuade the Punta Arenas city government to agree or take the bait, it is evident that Luanda City needs to first offer some concessions or incentives.

Thus, Mayor Horngren said, "In the upcoming days, we must ensure you take a good tour of our city’s enterprises. In terms of industrial strength and technology, we are not inferior to other cities in the world. Moreover, Luanda’s industrial equipment and products are considered excellent and affordable worldwide."

At present, other major powers are basically at war, which has increased East Africa’s industrial production capacity to a terrifying level. The expansion of industrial production scale has also led to lower production costs. If this were normal times, this would likely have already triggered an economic crisis.

And now, East Africa can leverage this advantage to continuously dump large quantities globally, thereby injecting blood and vitality into East Africa’s industrial development while enhancing East Africa’s influence.

Mayor Baldivieso replied, "Of course, Mayor Horngren, my friend, we’ve also brought many specialties of our country, especially woolen products and crafts, and hope you will like them."

Horngren wants to turn Punta Arenas into the market for Luanda City, while Baldivieso naturally wants to profit from East Africa. For a typical resource and agricultural nation like Chile, that means securing more orders for mineral and agricultural product exports.

For Chileans, selling their copper mines and nitrate products to the United Kingdom, the United States, or East Africa makes little difference.

As for Punta Arenas, even if East Africa really has ulterior motives, it doesn’t matter. The location of Punta Arenas guarantees that in trade between Chile and East Africa, Punta Arenas will inevitably be a beneficiary. Therefore, regarding commercial cooperation with Luanda City, the city government members led by Mayor Baldivieso not only do not oppose it but actively support it. Local enterprises in Punta Arenas are more interested in investment and trade from East Africa.

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While East Africa and Chile are engaged in friendly exchanges and meetings in Luanda City, Rhein City, the political center of East Africa, is also paying close attention to this exchange.

Defense Minister Pripyat, holding a command stick, pointed at the world map with the tip of the stick and said, "If we can bind Chile to the Empire’s chariot, it means we complete the last piece of the global strategic puzzle, enabling the navy to navigate and traverse freely in any ocean of the world."

He moved the command stick to the position of the Magellan Strait and said, "Prior to this and including now, we had no stable stronghold in all of America to facilitate communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans."

"In the Indian Ocean and Atlantic, we have powerful navies, in the Pacific, we have many colonies and spheres of influence, and even along the Arctic Ocean coast, we have Alaska to ensure the navy can enter the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific, even though such demand might wait far into the future."

Even in the 21st century, the shipping value of the Arctic Ocean can almost be ignored, except for aviation and Russia’s strategic nuclear submarines, it’s an area lacking attention.

However, the East African Defense Department and General Staff are quite optimistic about the future strategic value of the Arctic Ocean. Of course, being optimistic is one thing and it was further emphasized with the term ’future’.

Therefore, Defense Minister Pripyat mentioned the Arctic Ocean just to further illustrate the significance of controlling the Magellan Strait.

He said, "This means our navy can enter the Indian Ocean and Atlantic, and can also enter the Pacific through the Sunda Strait or by detouring other places, even through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean, having our military guarantee bases in these three oceans."

"However, we lack a maritime route directly from the Atlantic to the Pacific, so the Magellan Strait can be regarded as the last piece for our navy to become a truly global navy."

"With the Panama Canal under the control of the Americans, the Magellan Strait becomes one of our only two choices, unless we’re willing to risk traversing the more dangerous Drake Passage."

"But this risk is one we cannot afford to take, whereas the Magellan Strait is far different, even traversing it, unless Chile becomes our hostile nation, the security is still very reliable."

"And towards the Pacific direction, especially if sudden situations arise in the Eastern Pacific region, the Magellan Strait becomes the fastest convenient passage for our navy to support the Eastern Pacific from the Atlantic, even the Indian Ocean."

The main force of the East African Navy is basically deployed in the Indian and Atlantic regions. If a sudden war erupts, it will naturally be closer to transfer troops and conduct reinforcements from these two regions.

And if it involves Alaska or East Africa’s interests in South Pacific colonies, traversing through the Magellan Strait might be much closer than first going through the Indian Ocean and then entering the Pacific.