Chapter 1338 Political Mutual Trust
Chile's copper reserves are much richer than those in East Africa. As early as the Spanish colonial era, small-scale copper mining had already appeared in Chile. After entering the 20th century, stimulated by international market demand, the scale of copper mining in Chile began to increase, and the most important driving force behind it was East Africa.
Due to its excellent physical and chemical properties, copper is widely used in many fields such as electricity, light industry, machinery manufacturing, construction industry, and national defense industry.
There is no doubt that copper is a common metal that is quite valuable and can even be used as a reserve. Chile is a country relatively close to East Africa, so it is quite cost-effective for East Africa to import copper ore from Chile.
As for saltpeter, before the emergence of synthetic ammonia technology, saltpeter was one of the most important strategic materials in the world.
Chile, which possesses these two important minerals, naturally becomes one of the South American countries that East Africa values most. Similarly, since East Africa can develop trade with Chile, it is naturally inseparable from its neighbor Peru, which is also a country rich in mineral resources.
As a bridgehead between East Africa and the west coast countries of South America, and controlling the important sea route of the Strait of Magellan, Chile's priority is definitely before other west coast countries of South America. Of course, there are only four so-called west coast countries of South America, namely Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
However, these four countries are backed by the Andes Mountains and are all rich in minerals. Their trade with East Africa is growing relatively fast. They are the main countries importing silver, copper, coal, iron, saltpeter and other resources from East Africa.
Since Britain joined World War I, the only country that can compete with East Africa in the region is the United States, and both Peru and Colombia are currently inclined to develop relations with East Africa.
The diplomatic choices of the two countries at this stage are closely related to the Panama Canal. It can be said that Colombia and Chile are both victims of the opening of the Panama Canal. The former lost the Panama region, while the latter's economy was seriously hindered.
Foreign Minister Rigardo said: "There is a natural basis for cooperation between Chile and East Africa. We are rich in natural resources such as copper and saltpeter, as well as some regional specialties, while your country has technology and markets. As long as the two countries join forces in the economic field, there will be a brighter future for both countries."
"Improving the navigation efficiency of the Strait of Magellan is a prerequisite for expanding the scale of economic cooperation between the two countries. In order to support the construction of the Strait of Magellan, my country intends to build Punta Arenas into a window city for cooperation between the two countries."
As early as the last century, Chile established Punta Arenas as its free port. Its purpose was to take advantage of Punta Arenas' location and develop the local economy relying on the Strait of Magellan.
Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Panama Canal, the Chilean government's idea fell through. However, the good news is that with the rise of East Africa, the Chilean government saw an opportunity to revive Punta Arenas.
Rainey said: "I also know a little about Punta Arenas. It should be the southernmost city in the entire Americas, especially the largest city near the Antarctic region."
“We in East Africa are willing to help your country build and improve the infrastructure and operational capacity of the Port of Punta Arenas.”
"In addition, our two countries will cooperate to conduct a systematic and scientific survey of the topography, hydrology and climate of the Strait of Magellan."
“More climate monitoring stations should be set up along the coast to issue early warnings for extreme conditions such as strong winds, large waves, heavy fog and floating ice, so as to improve navigation safety in waterways.”
"At the same time, more guiding buildings, such as lighthouses and indicators, should be built to guide ships in identifying directions. At the same time, backup temporary ports of call should be set up to deal with sudden extreme weather conditions and ship shelters."
The Strait of Magellan not only has relatively harsh climatic conditions, but also complex and changeable terrain. This is closely related to the reasons for the formation of the Strait of Magellan. During the formation process of the Strait of Magellan, it was significantly affected by glacier and wind erosion.
Therefore, the geographical environment of the area where the Strait of Magellan is located is the same as that of Norway, with many fjords. This makes the Strait of Magellan have many forks, which can easily interfere with the passage of ships.
Rainey went on to say: "In addition to these infrastructure enhancements, our two countries should build a reasonable pilotage system to avoid some human errors and thus prevent disasters by training experienced pilots who are familiar with the local geography and climate."
In order to ensure the safety of ships in the Strait of Magellan, the Chilean government set up a strict pilotage system in the past. Foreign ships in particular had to hire local pilots before being allowed to cross the Strait of Magellan. This also fully illustrates the risks of the Magellan Strait route.
Now, these proposals of the East African governments have obviously been fully investigated and studied, in order to ensure the safety of their own ships and to prepare for the expansion of trade between East Africa and the west coast of America.
However, the Chilean government will not allow the East African Navy to enter the Strait of Magellan for the time being due to sovereignty and territorial security considerations.
However, it is necessary to obtain hydrographic and geographical data of the Strait of Magellan under the guise of economic cooperation between the two countries and provide detailed data support for East African ships and the navy.
The Strait of Magellan is large enough to support the passage of large ships. By passing through Chile, the East African Navy can enter the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean, which can greatly save costs and shorten the time it takes to reach the Pacific Ocean from East Africa.
In this way, East Africa no longer needs to go through the Indian Ocean first, then turn to the South Ocean and then enter the Pacific Ocean to travel to colonies such as Alaska and the South Pacific.
From this perspective, East Africa's emphasis on the Strait of Magellan is also closely related to the Panama Canal. Although the Panama Canal is convenient and safe, it is in the hands of the Americans. No country, especially a major power, will easily place its own security under the commitments and conscience of other countries.
This is also one of the main reasons why Chile can cooperate with East Africa. Compared with the United States, East Africa and Chile are separated by Argentina, and the Strait of Magellan is also controlled by Chile. So from a realistic point of view, East Africa's threat to Chile is much smaller than that of the United States.
Of course, the Chilean government will certainly not easily trust an imperialist country, so East Africa is still in Chile's observation period. Only when the cooperation between the two countries continues to deepen and a certain degree of mutual trust is generated, will Chile consider whether to further open up relevant fields to East Africa, or even military cooperation.
After all, it is not easy for a country like Chile. In the past, Chile's diplomacy was dominated by the game between the United States and Britain, but now it has changed to the United States and East Africa.
However, it can also be seen from the choice of the Chilean government that both the previous United Kingdom and the current East Africa are temporarily more reliable than the United States. After all, the west coast of the United States and Chile are on the same side of the ocean, and any Pacific country is naturally restricted by the US Navy. Any country with a little insight and independent development capabilities will inevitably develop relations with countries outside the region to balance the United States.
Judging from past history, the decision of the Chilean government is obviously correct. If given the opportunity, the United States will indeed interfere in Chile's development and internal affairs. It is no wonder that Chile attaches importance to its relationship with the Soviet Union and, in the 21st century, the Far Eastern Empire.
Of course, this situation only applies to countries that have the ability to develop independently. In fact, most countries in the world do not have this ability and awareness. It is not an exaggeration to even describe the governments of some countries as waste. In the past, the entire South America, except for a few countries, could be said to be a hopeless situation.
Of course, as a member of the imperialist world, East Africa is obviously happy to see this situation in many countries of the world. After all, without these countries that are ignorant of the times and unreasonable, there would be no room for the survival of imperialist countries.
“Based on economic development and deepening mutual trust between the two countries, we believe that the future of our two countries is bright, and we also support your legitimate interests in Central and South America,” Rainey said.
(End of this chapter)
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