Chapter 143: The Island-Australia Pact and Reactions from All Sides
"Honorable Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am willing to reach a new naval ordering agreement with your country. Your Duke-class armored cruisers meet our requirements for coastal defense. I wonder if your country can provide us with at least four such ships within two years?" Tozawa Koichiro asked with a smile.
If one pays close attention, it's easy to notice that Tozawa Koichiro's delivery requirements for battleships, armored cruisers, and various other weapons are all within two years. Although these weapons can indeed be built and delivered within two years, the cumulative demands are starting to seem somewhat extraordinary.
Furthermore, Japan is currently importing a large number of weapons, military ships, and essential strategic resources like coal and iron, in addition to other materials. All signs point to Japan having some significant actions planned for two years from now, and the scale of their ambitions is not small.
It is important to note that in East Asia, there is only one country that could prompt Japan to make such a large-scale military acquisition and not fear opposition or sanctions from other great powers: the Russian Empire.
While there is another vast country that could potentially force Japan to focus its efforts, its interests are already divided among the great powers, and none of these powers would allow Japan to just take over such a rich region.
"This shouldn't be a problem, Mr. Tozawa," the Australian deputy foreign minister nodded but said somewhat hesitantly, "However, our shipyard is currently only so large. To build these armored cruisers alongside the battleships, we would need to expand the shipyard and recruit more workers."
This expansion would raise the cost of the armored cruisers, potentially bringing them back to their original price. The publicly listed price for the armored cruiser was £59,130, with a special price of £52,000 for Japan.
What the deputy minister referred to as returning to the original price was essentially raising the cost by £7,000 per ship to offset the expenses of expanding the shipyard and hiring more staff.
"How about £55,000?" Tozawa Koichiro smiled and asked, "This is a reasonable price for us. If your country agrees to this price, we can sign the contract to purchase four armored cruisers immediately."
£55,000? The Australian deputy foreign minister silently calculated. Even with the expansion of the shipyard, there would still be a profit of over £20,000 per armored cruiser. If Japan ordered more than four cruisers at once, the total profit from the purchase could exceed £80,000, which would cover the expenses of Australia's navy expansion.
This saved cost could be used elsewhere to support Australia's development.
"No problem, Mr. Tozawa. The delivery time for these four armored cruisers, like the battleships, will also be within two years. To commemorate the first naval trade between Japan and Australia, on behalf of Australia, I will gift Japan a small coastal defense ship. This ship will be delivered together with the battleships and armored cruisers, symbolizing the friendship between our two countries," the Australian deputy foreign minister said after some consideration.
"Thank you so much, Minister," Tozawa Koichiro responded with a delighted expression. "May the friendship between Japan and Australia last forever."
In reality, a small coastal defense ship would not be taken seriously by either Australia or Japan. The construction cost of a coastal defense ship was only a few thousand pounds, far from even a fraction of the cost of the naval trade.
Giving Japan such a ship not only reinforced the island nation's "friends of friends are friends" theory, which assured them that Australia was trustworthy for the arms deal, but it also created a favorable impression. This gesture would please the politicians and people of Japan, enhancing the overall face of the trade.
After all, before the dreadnoughts were officially born, Arthur had no intention of outfitting the Australian navy with such extravagant ships.
Not only would a dreadnought cost several million pounds, but it would also require extensive manpower and specialists to build over the course of a year or more.
What would be the result? After the birth of the dreadnought, even the newest pre-dreadnoughts would lose their luster and combat relevance in comparison.
But to quickly master the technology for building dreadnoughts once they were born, Australia needed to first learn the technology for building pre-dreadnoughts.
This was like the accumulation of basic knowledge in school; without basic education to lay the foundation, sending someone with no schooling directly to university would be a futile attempt at forced advancement.
It was simply impossible. Countries unable to master the technology to build pre-dreadnoughts had no right to suddenly start building dreadnoughts once they were introduced.
Although the dreadnought was a new type of ship born from comprehensive technological improvements over pre-dreadnoughts, it wouldn't exist without the earlier design of pre-dreadnoughts.
Now, with the arrival of Japan's diplomatic delegation, Arthur saw an opportunity to allow shipyard experts to become proficient in building battleships without spending too much money.
Through selling battleships abroad, not only would Australia earn significant profits, but it would also provide these experts with warships to build, further honing the skills they learned from German specialists.
Australia stood to benefit, and Japan wouldn't lose out either, at least until the dreadnoughts came into existence.
This mutually beneficial arms deal was not something to be regretted just because the weapons would eventually become obsolete.
On November 19, 1902, after prolonged discussions and visits, the Japanese diplomatic delegation finalized the arms trade order.
The agreement consisted of one battleship, four armored cruisers, one coastal defense ship (as a gift), 20,000 Gew98 rifles, 100 German Maxim heavy machine guns, 30 105mm Krupp howitzers, and several million rounds of rifle and machine gun ammunition, as well as 10,000 artillery shells and other light and heavy weapons.
These weapons could equip a naval force ranked among the top 20 in the world and an elite army of 20,000 troops with considerable firepower.
Moreover, Japan's military was already powerful. The island nation's navy was equipped with five battleships purchased from Britain and one battleship seized in a naval battle, making it one of the top ten navies in the world.
On the land front, with its ample population and militarism, Japan could easily arm a force of over a million troops and, if necessary, even mobilize a military force of over three million soldiers to challenge any external threat.
In addition to the arms trade agreement, Japan also signed a resource import-export treaty with Australia.
The resource imports didn't just include coal and iron; they also included oil, nickel, aluminum, and other valuable minerals and resources.
This treaty stipulated that Australia would provide Japan with at least 100,000 tons of mineral resources annually, and the selling price of these resources could not exceed twice the market price.
To compensate Australia for its resource output, Japan would be responsible for transporting these resources, with Australia only needing to deliver them to the ports.
This treaty was a win-win for both Australia and Japan. Australia could exchange its abundant domestic mineral resources for foreign currency, which could then be used to purchase more advanced industrial equipment from Europe, accelerating Australia's industrialization and technological progress.
Meanwhile, Japan would address its domestic shortage of mineral resources, which had caused stagnation in some industries, allowing for breakthroughs and progress.
Together, the arms trade agreement and the resource import-export treaty formed the overall Island-Australia Pact, a preliminary agreement to strengthen economic and military cooperation between Japan and Australia.
This agreement didn't have any direct military clauses, and the arms trade was merely a measure taken by Arthur to open up the Australian military industry's export market.
Although the pact had some international impact, it didn't prompt any action from other countries. Despite Australia taking some of the arms trade market from Britain, the strong relationship between Australia and the British Empire, along with Arthur's esteemed reputation, meant that the British Empire made no move or statement regarding the deal.
The United States, too, was pleased with the cooperation between Australia and Japan. The U.S. had its own interests in Asia, with the Russian Empire being a close neighbor. However, with the growing industrial and economic power of the U.S., it saw the need to expand its influence beyond North America.
In Asia, Japan was a suitable candidate for U.S. support, and the U.S. hoped to see Japan challenge the Russian Empire's dominance in the East, further weakening Russian influence in the region.
Meanwhile, Germany, which had good relations with both Australia and Japan, didn't oppose the agreement either. Germany viewed Japan's military expansion as an opportunity to weaken the Russian Empire's hold in the East, allowing Germany to further its influence in Europe.
For Germany, the stronger Japan became, the more Russia would need international support, making it a situation ripe for exploitation.
(End of Chapter)
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