Chapter 1626 Arms Market
South America in 1936 was generally chaotic, especially influenced by the two extreme ideologies of Germany and the Soviet Union in Europe. This intensified the political struggle in South America and brought some trouble to East Africa's expansion in South America.
Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have also been constantly making small moves in South America, inciting hatred among some regions and people towards East Africa.
In order to deal with these troubles, East Africa can only adopt a steady expansion strategy and will never resort to war unless it is absolutely necessary.
This situation is particularly prominent in Bolivia. In a sense, East Africa is an invader to Bolivia. After all, in the previous war between Bolivia and Paraguay, East Africa was an accomplice of the Paraguayans.
Therefore, if East Africa wants to turn Bolivia into a loyal dog of the United States like Japan and South Korea in the past, and make Bolivia convinced, the best way is to highly bind Bolivia and East Africa at the economic level.
Promoting the eastward shift of Bolivia’s economic center of gravity is one of East Africa’s means.
"Ultimately, the goal is to integrate the economies of these South American countries into the empire's economic system and eventually integrate them," said Kuyachi.
"We will curb the development of these countries economically, and then stimulate them to actively embrace the empire culturally and ideologically."
"Countries and forces that follow the empire can reap the benefits, while those that choose to oppose it will not achieve the development they desire, and their sense of independence and autonomy will be undermined."
"Only through this subtle process can South America truly become the empire's most stable and important overseas market."
After hearing what Kuyachi said, Val agreed and said, "Manager, your opinion is excellent. Compared to other imperialist countries in the world, the Empire's current expansion strategy is indeed more sophisticated."
…
East Africa's combination punch in South America looks intimidating, but in fact it is not very novel. In the past, Spain, Portugal, then Britain and France, and then the United States, their expansion process in South America was not much different from that of East Africa.
In the city of Rhine.
Ernst told Crown Prince Friedrich, "Military and economic expansion are the two most direct means of expansion. The current expansion model is completely different from that of the 19th century. Relying solely on force to resolve problems will hardly work unless you disregard international opinion and are able to eradicate the problem completely."
"Take Japan, for example. Their expansion methods were extremely crude and impossible to sustain, causing fierce resistance and backlash in the colonies."
In other words, Japan is actually still following the old ways of Western colonizers before the 20th century, but times have changed.
Crown Prince Friedrich deeply agreed with this: "The so-called colonies of the empire are actually the empire's overseas administrative regions. They cannot be simply summarized as colonies. According to strict standards, the empire does not have a single colony in the true sense."
"This is similar to the relationship between the UK and Canada and Australia, which have little to do with colonies. However, countries like Japan, Germany and Italy clearly do not show this historical trend."
The Axis powers in the past were extremely keen on colonies, but now, apart from Japan, Germany and Italy have no room to play. Germany is geographically restricted, while Italy is relatively weak.
If Germany wanted to expand its colonies, it had to seize European hegemony so that its navy could break out of the blockade of countries such as Britain and France. As for the vassal states around Germany, it would be difficult for Germany to treat them as colonies.
Although Italy is a great power, its geopolitical environment is very harsh. There are too many powerful countries around it. It borders Germany and France directly on land, and has to face Britain in the Mediterranean. Other countries in the Mediterranean are also not weak, including Spain and the Ottoman Empire, which are not easy to control.
Across North Africa, there is a superpower like East Africa, making it difficult for Italy to find room for expansion. For example, at this time in the previous life, Italy would probably have gone to war with Ethiopia long ago.
However, if Italians knew the process of the war between Italy and Ethiopia in the previous life, they would probably be glad that this war directly turned Italy into the "shame of the great powers."
Therefore, without the opportunity to compete with the Abyssinian Empire, it would be difficult for other powers to see Italy's strengths and weaknesses.
At this moment, Ernst suddenly asked, "How is the situation in Spain recently?"
If there was any major international event in 1936, the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War was definitely Ernst's biggest concern.
However, until now, the two factions in Spain have remained restrained, or are making final preparations for war.
Crown Prince Friedrich said calmly: "According to the estimates of the intelligence department and the Ministry of Defense, the Spanish Civil War is on the verge of breaking out."
"The weapons of the German and Soviet camps have basically been arranged. It all depends on who will fire the first shot and completely detonate this powder keg."
The so-called two camps actually only include the European extreme nationalist political group headed by Germany. This camp includes Germany, Italy and other countries. Germany and Italy are considered the leaders of this camp, followed by a bunch of Eastern European countries.
In the Soviet camp, there was only one national regime, the Soviet Union, and other allies were basically in an "illegal" state. They might have a certain influence in their respective countries, but they had no dominant ability over national affairs.
Ernst said: "In this case, we must also be prepared to make advance investments against Franco's faction as planned after the war breaks out."
From the beginning to the end, Ernst was optimistic about the National Party headed by Franco, so East Africa had already made contact with Franco.
Based on past life experience, this investment is definitely a good deal.
Ernst said: "Spain has always been an important partner of the Empire in Europe, but we cannot completely stay out of Spain's internal affairs for this reason."
"We can choose not to support Franco in terms of weapons and equipment, but we can provide him with some assistance in terms of non-sensitive supplies. Of course, if the two factions take the initiative to go to East Africa to purchase weapons and equipment, that would be another matter."
Ernst's subtext is also very clear, that is, in terms of weapons, although East Africa will not take the initiative to sell to Spain, if they really send people to East Africa to purchase them, East Africa will not refuse.
East Africa is now very fond of the arms business. After all, one of the development focuses of East Africa during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period was to expand its armaments. After the weapons are produced, the obsolete equipment must also be disposed of. It would be a bit extravagant and wasteful to destroy them directly.
Speaking of arms trade, Crown Prince Friedrich complained, "There are so many competitors in the international arms market now that the Empire's military exports have been affected to a certain extent."
"Besides the Empire, the United States and Germany are also major military exporters. Germany is the most prominent exporter of army equipment. They have previously won large orders from the Far Eastern Empire."
"In South America, German military exports also pose a strong competition to the Empire and have a high degree of influence on the military forces of South American countries."
"The United States has considerable industrial strength, and their arms sales are more flexible, so they can attract customers' attention when it comes to exports."
Many American weapons manufacturers are private enterprises, so they are more flexible. In fact, as long as the customers can afford it, those American companies dare to sell anything, which gives them more room for negotiation with customers.
Germany and the United States are also East Africa's biggest competitors in the arms market. Especially in the competition for non-colonial markets, the competition among the three countries is particularly fierce.
The situation was different when it came to the colonial market. Crown Prince Friedrich mentioned: "Britain and France, while their industries are declining, their military capabilities remain strong, and they possess vast private markets, absorbing their own military production capacity within their colonies and spheres of influence."
The decline of the industrial strength of Britain and France does not mean the decline of the military industry of the two countries. After all, the decline of military industry capabilities is often slower than the market.
Just like the United States in its previous life, even if it carried out industrial transfer, it had to keep the military industry in its own country and it was impossible to transfer the military industry out.
Therefore, even in the 21st century, when the United States' industrial strength declined significantly, its military industry could still barely maintain itself, and the last one rotted away.
The current development of the military industries in Britain and France is obviously much better than that of the United States in the early 21st century.
Since the end of the Cold War, the US military industry has come to a complete standstill, with little progress in almost decades. However, Britain and France in the early 20th century did not dare to take it easy in their military industries.
As the saying goes, one should be prepared for danger in times of peace. Britain and France are in this situation now. In Europe, they face threats from the Soviet Union and Germany. Overseas, their colonies also need military protection, and they must be wary of countries such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan.
Therefore, the military industries of Britain and France still maintain a passing level and can even be called excellent. Of course, compared with East Africa, they are definitely not comparable to Germany and the United States.
East Africa, Germany and the United States all scored full marks, but being able to get full marks is just the score on the test paper. In fact, the three countries have their own unique skills in cutting-edge military industries, but they are all hidden and not shown.
Crown Prince Friedrich said: "Among the five countries, East Africa is probably the most comprehensive competitor, while Germany is more partial, but excels in some areas."
The so-called German bias mentioned by Crown Prince Friedrich only applies to East Africa. In fact, Germany's shortcomings in military industry are not prominent compared with other countries, especially after Germany annexed the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Germany's current military industry is actually a combination of the former Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I'm afraid that only East Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union can compare with this combination in terms of size.
These four countries all have a population of over 100 million, and East Africa has a population of 200 million. Therefore, the industries in these four countries are the most sound, which is something that no other country in the world can do.
Compared with East Africa and the United States, the biggest disadvantage of Germany and the Soviet Union is that their naval strength is too weak, but there is no way to avoid it. After all, their ocean conditions are not as good as those of East Africa and the United States.
Crown Prince Friedrich said: "As for the navy, Germany is not so good, but Britain can still maintain a first-class level, on the same level as East Africa and the United States."
Judging from the data on paper alone, the British Navy is still in its heyday. The Royal Navy has a huge foundation and is still receiving a steady influx of fresh blood.
As rising stars, East Africa and the United States will need time to surpass Britain, especially in terms of naval size. Of course, the United States' current investment in the navy is not as active as East Africa's.
Under Ernst's influence, East Africa has quietly launched a new round of naval competition in response to the possible outbreak of World War II. However, isolationism is now prevalent in the United States, and it is not very concerned about international affairs.
"The Empire, Germany, the United States, Britain, and France are the five giants of the international arms market and the five countries at the top of the military industry."
"Apart from the Big Five, this doesn't mean other major military industrial powers are uncompetitive. For example, Soviet weapons, which primarily focus on price, had a well-developed defense industry. Although their weapons were relatively crude, their low prices were still very attractive to poor and weak countries."
"In this respect, Japan's situation is similar to that of the Soviet Union, and Japan's labor costs are even lower. However, Japan's weapons can only be used in the Far East and cannot even reach other parts of the Pacific."
"Next is Italy. Italy's military industry is very competitive even among second-tier industrial nations, especially its light weapons, which are no worse than those of other countries."
"In addition to the great powers, some countries also have strong military industries, but their industries are relatively narrow. For example, countries like Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire, Spain, and Portugal have achieved remarkable results in some single areas and possess a certain scale of military industrial capacity."
"Also, those poor and weak countries have seen some industrial development in recent years, and at least they no longer need to rely on imports for all their military products. This has further exacerbated the shrinking international arms market."
"There are too many powerful nations and industrialized countries in the world, which has led to fierce competition for a share of the international military industry market. Therefore, if we want to end this situation, we must end the old international order and redistribute the pie."
Crown Prince Friedrich's summary makes a lot of sense. The arms market is now in serious "internal circulation", which in itself is a manifestation of the current multipolarization of the international landscape.
The arms market can be compared to a big pie, but there is a table of guests grabbing it with knives and forks. Naturally, the competition in the arms market cannot be easy.
After World War II, this problem was solved. After the United States and the Soviet Union were cleared, the players in the international arms trade market became these two, forming the two major weapon equipment systems of the United States and the Soviet Union. This situation lasted until the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States monopolized the big pie of international arms trade. The American military industry was doing very well during that period. This situation continued until the rise of the Far Eastern Empire's military industry.
Therefore, East Africa will definitely have to clear out the current arms trade market in the future. It is foreseeable that the countries that have been eliminated include the United Kingdom, France and other countries. Now the only countries that can sit at the table are East Africa, the United States, Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union and Germany will still have to compete to decide who can stay at the table.
In this way, East Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union (Germany) will most likely be the builders of the new international order, and these three countries will start a new round of competition.
(End of this chapter)
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