Chapter 312: Supporting Australasia Against America
Churchill's words were a wake-up call, causing all members of the British Cabinet to seriously reconsider the issue.
Why support island nations? Isn't it to distract Russia's attention and also to counter America's massive expansion in the Pacific? However, Russia is currently an ally against Germany, and due to agreements with Russia, the British government wasn't planning to assist the island nations in the short term.
Although the British government could no longer support island nations, that didn't mean they couldn't support other countries. Churchill's argument was compelling. The British Empire and Australasia shared the same roots, and Australasia's dominant population consisted of British immigrants. This meant that Australasia would never proactively oppose the British government. Even if the British chose to be immigrants, they would still hold deep affection for Britain in the short term.
If the government of Australasia directly opposed the British Empire, it would likely face anger from the British immigrants, who could make the government reconsider its stance.
Moreover, Australasia and the British monarchy also shared common roots. Given such a strong relationship, wouldn't supporting Australasia be a more attractive option?
Furthermore, in the minds of many Europeans in this era, there was still an element of white supremacy. Instead of supporting an island nation with a different ethnicity and culture, why not support Australasia, which shared common roots and would almost certainly never turn against Britain?
Although Australasia's population was a major flaw, wasn't the island nation once an ignorant and underdeveloped country decades ago? The British Empire had the ability to support an island nation to military power equal to the great powers in just a few decades. The same could be done for Australasia's navy to bring it to great power status and create a new great power in Oceania.
More importantly, Australasia's shipbuilding industry was already on a significant scale, and its dreadnought capabilities were already at great power level. With a little help to address the population issue and more support, Australasia could easily grow into a naval power of great power level.
Although the rise of Australasia would certainly harm the Dutch East Indies in the north, the British Empire could decisively abandon the Dutch East Indies since it was a Dutch colony.
More importantly, in the eyes of the British, the threat from America far outweighed the potential threat posed by an Australasia that controlled the Dutch East Indies. If Australasia could possess the Dutch East Indies, it might also solve some of the population issues and grow into a true great power capable of competing with America.
Though this would require considerable effort, it was better than sitting idly by while America rose after the chaos in Europe.
The British Cabinet members exchanged glances and understood each other's unspoken agreement.
Prime Minister Asquith nodded first and said, "Let's put the expansion of the navy aside for now. Supporting Australasia is indeed a good choice. Apart from the European conflicts, we also need to be wary of the threat from across the ocean. To prevent the expansion of America's navy from threatening the British Empire, I think it's necessary to support Australasia and cultivate a country in the southwest Pacific region that can counter America."
"Exactly. Australasia is located in Oceania, and expanding westward means crossing the entire Indian Ocean, which is not advantageous. To the east are our and France's islands, and if Australasia is smart, they won't be interested in these areas for the time being. To the south lies the vast Antarctic, and Australasia likely doesn't have the resources to explore such a harsh environment. Their expansion will only be toward the north. After controlling the Dutch East Indies, if they don't want to conflict with us, their expansion will likely be toward the Philippines, which naturally puts them in conflict with the Americans." The Home Secretary, McKenna, also nodded in agreement.
After discussing the support of Australasia, the Dutch East Indies had become a region that could be abandoned, as it was not worth risking relations with Australasia for the sake of Dutch interests. After all, the interests of other countries were not as important as their own strategic planning.
Moreover, the British Empire could decide the fate of the Dutch colonies at will. If it weren't for the British Empire's tacit acceptance of Dutch control over the land and not allowing any other great powers to intervene, the Dutch colonies would have long been taken over by other nations—this was an era of the survival of the fittest.
"If we can support Australasia and align it with the Allies, it will be a good thing for us," said another Cabinet member.
"Indeed, Australasia has become one of the British Empire's important trade partners. They have abundant resources such as food, meat, and minerals. This makes them a natural ally for us and a natural enemy for America. I support supporting Australasia, and I believe the government should act swiftly to align Australasia with the Allies. This will be beneficial for the European conflict, as we will have another source of wartime supplies to relieve the pressure on our domestic supplies."
Churchill then spoke in his usual unhurried manner, "Don't forget, Australasia currently also has a strong navy with three battleships and two battlecruisers. Although their fleet isn't huge, it can still handle some of the defense in the Indian Ocean and alleviate the pressure on our navy in the colonial regions. Additionally, I've heard that they are building a class of super-dreadnoughts called the Hope class for Chile. If they really master the technology for building super-dreadnoughts, their importance will rise substantially."
The importance of super-dreadnoughts was on par with the dreadnoughts of a few years ago. As the most powerful battleship design in the world at the time, super-dreadnoughts were destined to be the backbone of naval combat and were central to the British-German naval race. If Australasia mastered the technology to build super-dreadnoughts, it would place Australasia's shipbuilding ability in the top four globally, behind only Britain, Germany, and the United States.
"If the British Empire provides some financial support to Australasia, encouraging rapid naval expansion, could it result in a navy that ranks among the world's top five?" Churchill asked, hopeful.
It was difficult to say, but the possibility was indeed significant. A single dreadnought could carry the firepower of two or three older battleships, and a super-dreadnought could theoretically match two dreadnoughts.
This meant that Australasia's navy, in terms of combat capability, had already surpassed island nations with seven battleships, making them a real great power. With the addition of a super-dreadnought, a dreadnought, and a battlecruiser, Australasia's navy could rival Austria-Hungary and even Italy.
Supporting Australasia had become a surefire bet for the British Empire's Cabinet ministers.
The more they discussed it, the more excited they became, and some were already making plans to start supporting Australasia immediately.
"Alright, everyone. Although we understand the importance and necessity of supporting Australasia, as we have been discussing, we still need to consider the necessity of expanding the navy, don't we? Let's table the plan to support Australasia for the next meeting. For now, let's focus on the issue of naval expansion, as that's the primary concern for government finances," Prime Minister Asquith said, laughing wryly, ending the conversation to keep the Cabinet's discussion on track.
Seeing that Prime Minister Asquith was undeterred by his argument and was still advocating for a reduction in naval expansion, Churchill shook his head but stubbornly retorted, "Prime Minister, I still believe that reducing the scale of naval expansion is not the right approach. If the government is short on funds, in addition to issuing bonds, we could also generate substantial income from the colonies, can't we?"
Before Prime Minister Asquith could respond, Foreign Secretary Edward stood up, changing his previously silent stance, and directly countered, "I must say, Minister Churchill, that's a foolish idea. Let's not even talk about how we could extract more taxes from the colonies without angering the indigenous populations. The moment we impose harsh taxes, the Germans will spread the word about how we are oppressing the colonial people. If they stir up trouble, a colonial crisis could erupt at any time. If that happens, we'll have to use both land and naval forces to suppress it, which would put even more strain on our finances."
While European powers had long been suppressing their colonies under a facade of civility, it was a collective effort at the time, and no one dared to challenge it. But now the situation was different. If only the British Empire did this on its own, the Germans would surely exploit it.
"The colonies wouldn't just be a problem for the British. If the Germans had more colonies of their own, such propaganda would hurt them too. Their own colonies would face rebellion risks as well." Edward concluded, making it clear that relying on colonies for additional revenue would not be as simple as Churchill imagined.
"Moreover, Minister Churchill, our proposal is to reduce the scale of naval expansion, not to stop it entirely. Having twice as many battleships as Germany is an unsustainable financial burden. How about we adjust the ratio to 1.5 to 1 instead?" Edward looked at Churchill, proposing a more balanced solution.
(End of Chapter)
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