Chapter 1661 Security
For these countries along the Indian Ocean coast and in the Middle East and Central Asia, they used to speak of Britain with gritted teeth.
But when East Africa and the Soviet Union emerged, they suddenly realized that the British were already quite "merciful" compared to these two major powers.
The Shah lamented, "We used to regard Britain as a monstrous threat, but when Britain truly declined, the Soviet Union and East African countries were, in some ways, even more ferocious than Britain."
"Although East Africa has become more restrained in recent years, I still feel a bit apprehensive when dealing with them. It always feels like I'm dealing with a tiger for its skin."
East Africa has an almost entirely negative reputation in the Middle East and Central Asia. Its expansion along the Persian Gulf coast in the past terrified many people.
East Africa's territory in the Middle East is approximately 200,000 square kilometers, which is by no means small, although most of the area is desert.
On this land of more than 200,000 square kilometers, not a single Arab believer can be found today.
Therefore, it is inevitable that Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries are wary of East Africa. Considering East Africa's own history of expansion, this suspicion is even more justified.
Interior Minister Mamoud reassured him, saying, "At least now East Africa's position in the international community has changed compared to the past."
"East Africa's expansion was mainly concentrated before the 1920s, around the time of the outbreak of the European war. In the last ten years or so, East Africa has basically not expanded its territory overseas."
"From another perspective, if Afghanistan had the same strength as East Africa, and if European countries were involved in a world war, it would certainly try every means to acquire more land."
Mamoud spoke the truth about the Afghans: they are indeed hostile to East Africa, but more than that, they wish they could take its place.
“Ahem!” Prime Minister Hashim interrupted, “Now, regardless of what this East African country is like.”
"We must all be prepared to deal with them, and even rely on East Africa. The threat from East Africa is latent, while the threat from the Soviet Union is obvious and overt."
"Muhammad, what you need to do next is to find a balance between the Soviet Union and East Africa. After all, the Soviet Union and East Africa cannot unite ideologically."
"Therefore, Afghanistan has value in being courted by both the Soviet Union and East Africa. Neither side wants us to completely switch sides."
Muhammad was the name of the Shah, so the Prime Minister Hashim, as his uncle, addressed him in this way, reflecting their relationship.
King Shah nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle Sadar, I am not a willful person. For the family, maintaining our rule is the most important thing.”
"Therefore, I will take a rational view of East Africa. With this Central Asia Highway project, we can also test the attitude of this East African country."
"It will determine the specific ways in which we deal with East Africans in the future."
The diplomatic challenges faced by Afghanistan are also common challenges faced by countries along the Indian Ocean coast today. In the Arab world, perhaps only the Ottoman Empire has been able to handle them relatively well.
As for India, it probably doesn't have this problem. After all, India was a British colony and didn't have its own diplomatic power. At the same time, India is not a completely Arab country.
...
September 13, 1937.
Gwadar Port has been particularly prosperous recently, with many ships arriving from mainland East Africa docking at this economically marginal port.
As a port primarily serving military and strategic purposes, Gwadar Port itself has not achieved significant economic success.
Because it lacks a substantial economic hinterland to support its economic prosperity.
Only a very small number of merchants from the Qarat Khanate would choose to conduct trade activities in Gwadar Port, but the Qarat Khanate itself was small in size and population and had no noteworthy resources.
At the same time, the Karat Khanate itself was within the British sphere of influence, so in foreign trade, Britain was the Karat Khanate's primary trading partner.
Naval Captain Montreux of Gwadar Port in East Africa and several of his subordinates were quite intrigued by the recent changes in the port.
"Now Gwadar Port finally has some activity besides our army. I just don't know if this trade route will continue to drive the prosperity of Gwadar Port after the Central Asia Highway is completed."
As a high-ranking officer in the East African Navy stationed in Gwadar, Colonel Montreux naturally hoped that Gwadar would prosper.
After all, the prosperity of Gwadar Port also brings corresponding benefits to the local troops stationed there, adding some fun to their otherwise monotonous military life.
Lieutenant Colonel Tanar, deputy commander of the Gwadar military base, said: "I think it should be possible to do this once the Central Asia Highway is completed."
“In the past, Gwadar lacked trade and freight volume because Gwadar did not have important land transportation links to the outside world.”
"The road between us and the Karat Khanate was basically a dirt road."
"But looking at the Empire's plans for the Central Asian highway, once this highway is completed, Gwadar will not only be able to establish full contact with the Khanate of Qarat, but also connect with inland Afghanistan and the Soviet Union."
"Not to mention the Soviet Union, just the fact that some Afghan goods were chosen to be exported through Gwadar Port would be enough to drive the great development of Gwadar Port."
There is no doubt that Afghanistan is poor, but it is not a small country. Its total area exceeds 600,000 square kilometers and its population is at least seven million.
At the same time, Afghanistan itself has many resources, especially gold, silver and jewelry.
Lieutenant Colonel Tanar said, "Afghanistan is a landlocked country, but it is still quite large. Although it has been frequently plundered by Britain and Tsarist Russia in modern times, its wealth should not be underestimated."
"The most important point is that Afghanistan itself has no access to the sea, so once the Central Asia Highway is completed, Gwadar will naturally become an important channel for Afghanistan's foreign trade."
"If the empire's merchants can seize opportunities and use their skills, a number of them will surely become rich."
Colonel Montreux agreed, saying, "Afghanistan itself represents a market of millions of people, with relatively abundant resources and some unique products, especially the dried fruits of Afghanistan, which are quite good."
"Add the whole of Central Asia, and that's a huge market of about 20 million people, provided that the Soviet Union opens up trade between Central Asia and us."
Lieutenant Colonel Tanar was not very optimistic about the Soviet Union.
He shook his head and said to Colonel Montreux, "It will be very difficult to get the Soviet Union to open up trade between Central Asia and us."
"To be honest, I was already quite surprised that the Soviet Union agreed to jointly build the Central Asian Highway with the Empire."
"I think it's wishful thinking to expect the Soviet Union to further expand trade with the Empire."
The East African troops stationed at Gwadar Port were not entirely unaware of the overall plan for the Central Asian Highway, but it was precisely because they knew that the highway would pass through Soviet-controlled Central Asia that they found it hard to imagine.
Colonel Montreux stated, "The cooperation between the Reich and the Soviet Union in this regard was more likely a compromise by the Soviet Union to the Reich."
"The Soviet Union is now under tremendous pressure in Europe, especially from Germany, which forces it to make more concessions to the empire."
"Otherwise, let alone agreeing to the construction of the Central Asian Highway, they probably wouldn't easily allow the Empire to intervene in the Afghan region either."
"As for trade activities in Central Asia, I also think that the Soviet Union is unlikely to fully open it up, but there may be some changes after the Central Asian highway is opened."
Colonel Montreux thought to himself that once the Central Asian Highway was open, no matter how much the Soviet Union restricted it, it would be impossible for the highway to be completely unusable.
After all, Central Asia was Soviet territory, and Gwadar Port was a good option for the economic development of Central Asia, facilitating the strengthening of Soviet trade imports and exports.
He continued, "As long as our two countries do not completely break off relations, the prospects for the Central Asian Highway will remain."
"Unless the Soviet Union completely restricts the development of their Central Asian territories, the Soviet government should not be so short-sighted."
Lieutenant Colonel Tanar then said, "That's not necessarily true. Joseph's rule over Central Asia is quite tough. For the Slavs, Central Asia is a land inhabited by foreign peoples, not to mention that Central Asian religions have been deeply influenced by the Arabs."
Colonel Montreux retorted, "Your idea is too one-sided. The Soviet Union and Tsarist Russia are ultimately different."
"Tsarist Russia's rule was bloodier, especially towards ethnic minorities, but the Soviet Union's attitude towards ethnic minorities was more inclined towards transformation and assimilation, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach."
"Actually, from a country's perspective, the Soviet Union's approach was not wrong."
"However, the religious and ethnic forces in Central Asia will obviously not accept the Soviet Union's reforms obediently. Therefore, the Soviet government will inevitably clash with them."
"But no matter how backward and corrupt Central Asia is, there are still forces for progress; otherwise, it would have been very difficult for these regions to join the Soviet Union as constituent republics."
"Therefore, the Soviet Union's strong rule over Central Asia was inevitable. However, the Soviet Union not only did not restrict local development, but also invested heavily in it, which is fundamentally different from Tsarist Russia."
"This is similar to the empire's overseas territories."
Ultimately, during the Tsarist era, Central Asia was a colony of Tsarist Russia, but during the Soviet era, it was governed as part of its own territory. Moreover, the Soviet Union did not have the same prejudice against the Central Asian peoples as Tsarist Russia did, because the Soviet Union valued class rather than nationality.
Looking at the development of Central Asia during the Soviet era, it's clear that the Soviet Union did achieve this. Under Soviet rule, ordinary people in Central Asia were far better off than those in the Arab countries to the south.
Colonel Montreux said, "So I believe the future of the Central Asian Highway is very promising, not to mention that this highway is not only related to the Soviet Union, but also to the Khanate of Qarat, Afghanistan, and the Far Eastern Empire."
Lieutenant Colonel Tanar commented, "I hope so!"
Compared to the East African officers at the Gwadar military base who were focused on the Central Asia Highway, the East African engineering company, which had just landed, was more concerned with the business related to the highway.
To build the Central Asian Highway, East Africa has transported a significant number of personnel, engineering equipment, and vehicles from its own borders. They will travel north along Gwadar and modify the planned route.
The main goal of this Central Asia Highway project is to allow the passage of large vehicles; other standards are not particularly high, such as road surface hardening and building materials.
A more apt description would be to use state-of-the-art engineering equipment to build an ordinary road that could be built by human labor.
After the highway was built, its main task was to enable large vehicles traveling from Gwadar to reach the border crossings of the Far Eastern Empire.
Even with such low road standards, the Central Asian Highway is still a major project for the Central Asian region. As for higher quality, East Africa will not undertake such a thankless task unless they are willing to pay for it themselves.
Despite its low standards, the Central Asian Highway has the potential to become a major artery for trade between East Africa and the Far Eastern empires in the near future.
This can be seen in the Stilwell Road and Burma Road of the past; the Central Asian Road was more of an emergency road.
Moreover, the environment along the Central Asian Highway is far better than that of the Burma Road and the Stilwell Road.
Take the Stilwell Road as an example; the road traverses the towering mountains, primeval forests, and countless rivers of northern Myanmar and India.
These areas have complex geological conditions, and landslides and collapses are commonplace, making it almost impossible to maintain smooth road surfaces.
Not to mention during World War II, even in the 21st century of my previous life, the cost of maintaining transportation in the southwestern mountainous region of the Far Eastern Empire was extremely high.
Especially during the rainy season, landslides and mudslides are bound to occur, causing temporary road closures.
The Central Asian Highway may encounter similar situations in the future, but it will be far less frequent than the Stilwell Road, and maintenance will be much easier.
At the same time, the Central Asian Highway was much safer than the Stilwell Road. Whether it was the Central Asian Highway built in East Africa or the Stilwell Road built under the leadership of the United States in the previous life, they were both aimed at Japan.
Therefore, Japan would inevitably try to sever the Far Eastern Empire's external connections, and the Stilwell Road would be within Japan's attack range, after all, in the previous life Japan had reached as far as the southwest and Southeast Asia of the Far Eastern Empire.
Unless Japan can cross the Strait of Malacca and destroy the Gwadar Port military base in East Africa, or invade the northwest of the Far Eastern Empire, the Central Asian Highway will inevitably become one of the lifelines for East Africa's military aid to the Far Eastern Empire.
But let alone taking down Gwadar Port, even if Japan occupied Singapore, it would be almost impossible for them to pass through the Strait of Malacca, not to mention the absolute strength of the East African Navy in the Indian Ocean.
The Phuket military base alone, a thorn in the side of the Strait of Malacca in East Africa, is not something Japan can easily remove.
The Phuket military base, also known as the East African military base at the southern end of the Kra Isthmus, is located in the western section of the Strait of Malacca.
Although its location is not as strategically important as Singapore's in the Strait of Malacca, it still plays a vital role in safeguarding East Africa's interests in the Strait of Malacca.
In fact, the mere existence of the Phuket military base is enough to deter the British who control the Strait of Malacca.
In conclusion, Japan cannot threaten the security of Gwadar. From the sea, land, and air, Gwadar Port is not a place that Japan can militarily intervene in.
As for occupying the northwest of the Far Eastern Empire and thus rendering the Central Asian Highway useless, that would also be an impossible task for Japan.
In its previous life, Japan couldn't even destroy its base in the Taihang Mountains, let alone bypass the Red regime in the Northwest and attack the inland areas further back in the Northwest.
(End of this chapter)
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