The Rise of Australasia

Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

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The first month of 1920 was relatively calm, and the international situation was

Not as chaotic as before, with everything seemingly moving in a positive direction.

Whether this was temporary or permanent, Arthur could not tell, but the upcoming February would be crucial for the development of world affairs.

Under the leadership of the British, a conference on naval limitations was held in London, with participants from many countries of the World Alliance and some non-Alliance countries that were officially invited.

After all, the British Empire was still the world hegemon at the time, and almost no country would refuse an invitation from the British, except for some that had already revealed their true colors.

Of course, not all countries could receive an invitation from the British. This was a conference on limiting naval size, and the participants were all countries with sufficient naval strength. After all, wouldn’t having no navy be the greatest limitation in itself?

This resulted in a limited number of countries really participating in the negotiations, led by several Powers and including some small European and American countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, etc.

Although there were nearly 20 countries attending the conference, real decision-making power was held by only a few of the Powers.

Other countries simply could not compete with the Powers in naval strength, nor would they be foolish enough to join an arms race with them.

Because of this, as soon as the conference began, all eyes turned to the British delegation, waiting for them to speak first.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of world peace and stability, it is necessary for us to hold a conference to come up with a relatively reasonable measure to deal with the disputes and even wars caused by the military gap between countries and regions," said the British Foreign Minister Grey, with an attitude of benevolence towards everyone and the entire world, and a smile on his face.

After Grey spoke, the French representative just shook his head noncommittally and took a sip from his coffee cup.

"Minister Grey is correct. In the history of the world, every war has been a tragedy for humanity, and we should do everything possible to avoid it.

If there really is a measure that could help us avoid war as much as possible, it would be a fortunate event worth celebrating for everyone present and the entire world and humanity," said the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, a staunch supporter of the British, saving Minister Grey’s face.

"What plans does Minister Grey have to prevent wars from happening in the entire world?" asked some practical people, such as the Spanish Foreign Minister, expressing their doubts.

"It’s simple," Minister Grey said with a smile, "Most of the wars that have taken place in the past were due to the huge military disparity between countries that allowed governments and ambitious individuals to wage war without restraint."

"That’s why we need to balance the military strength of each region, making sure that any powerful country is limited by others, so that we can avoid war as much as possible and let governments and countries considering war think twice about the consequences of failure,"

Although Minister Grey’s words seemed righteous, most countries did not have much trust in what he said.

While the statement seemed reasonable, if a truly reasonable balance of military power could be established between regions, wouldn’t that mean the special privileges of the powerful nations would be gone?

More importantly, who would be able to restrain the British Empire, which had a supreme hegemony over the seas?

Not to mention whether there were any countries capable of restraining Britain, the real question was, would the British be willing to be restrained by others?

A series of issues caused Minister Grey’s proposal to fall into a vicious cycle. The seemingly reasonable yet practically hopeless proposal made the French representative’s laughter appear somewhat absurd.

It is important to note that the real cause of military disparities between regions was the strength of each country’s overall national capabilities, including the economy, industry, territory, mineral resources, and human resources, which could not be completely eliminated by Minister Grey’s proposal.

However, although Minister Grey’s proposal seemed ridiculous, no other country dared to openly confront him, given that he was the Foreign Minister of the world’s most powerful nation.

Even the French, who merely chuckled quietly, showed the power and prestige of the British at this stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of world peace and a better life for mankind, I believe it is necessary for us to unite and make judgments on each country’s situation to prevent wars caused by the rapid growth of military power," said Minister Grey, satisfied that no one had opposed him and becoming more ambitious, consequently proposing a disarmament requirement.

But the problem was, disarmament was obviously a proposal that some countries, especially Britain’s biggest rival, France, could not accept.

"""

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