The Rise of Australasia

France’s only advantage compared to the United Kingdom is the size and strength of its army. Speaking of disarmament, it is actually a restriction on the size of the army.

After all, the British would definitely be reluctant to make cuts to the navy, and making cuts to the army is not a significant loss to the British, as there is little difference in combat strength between conscripts and the regular army.

"Minister Grey, could you please elaborate on your disarmament plan?" As expected, the French representative could not sit still, and stood up, asking with an unfriendly expression.

If Minister Grey’s disarmament proposal only pertains to the army, the French representative is not even sure if he would storm out in anger, because this would turn into outright targeting of France.

"Of course, it concerns both the army and the navy. To ensure that it is fair for all countries, I propose that we all negotiate a more comprehensive disarmament method. This will not only reduce the likelihood of war but also reduce the expenditures of all countries, which can be used for people’s livelihoods.

Isn’t this a good thing?" Minister Grey answered with a calm expression in the face of the French representative’s question.

"Your Excellency Grey, how should the proportion of disarmament be determined? After all, the situations and geographical locations of the countries represented here are completely different, and their national conditions are not the same. We cannot maintain the same proportion, can we?" The Island Nation representative also stood up and asked his own question.

Compared to France, the situation faced by the Island Nation is more extreme.

As an island country, the strength of the Island Nation’s army is far greater than that of its navy.

Currently, the Island Nation’s naval strength ranks fifth in the world, behind the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Australasia.

Although its naval strength surpasses Italy and Russia Nation, the problem is that these two countries are already at the bottom of the heap among the great powers, and one faces a serious internal crisis; isn’t comparing them like fifty steps laughing at a hundred?

"Instead of determining the proportion of disarmament, why not determine the proportion of military reserves for each country? Apart from the necessary reserves, all other arms can be disbanded, wouldn’t that guarantee fairness in disarmament?" Minister Grey said with a smile.

As Minister Grey’s words fell, the room fell into momentary silence.

It was clear that what Minister Grey said was virtually impossible to achieve, as none of the countries present could accept a proposal to reduce their own military reserve ratios for no reason, and there was no way to find a disarmament plan that would satisfy everyone.

Seeing that not many people supported his disarmament plan, Minister Grey was not in a hurry; instead, he turned the topic to the real purpose of the meeting, which was about limiting the proportion of naval arms.

"Let’s talk about the proposal to limit naval arms first. In addition to determining each country’s naval ratio based on industrial strength and overall national strength as we decided earlier, I think it is also necessary to add a restriction on the tonnage of new warships." Minister Grey continued.

"As the competition in naval armaments escalates, warship tonnage has exceeded 30,000 tons, which is extremely exaggerated and unbelievable. I believe it is necessary to limit the tonnage of warships for each country to less than 20,000 tons to reduce the expenditure on super-large warships and the advantage of equipment."

Determining the specific scale and proportion of each country’s naval armament according to overall national strength and industrial level was already decided at the World Alliance Conference.

But the problem is that such a division may not necessarily be fair to some countries, as there are countries with strong navies but not so strong industrial power, such as the Island Nation that recently joined the conference.

The Island Nation is actually quite unique; if only considering military strength, it is definitely a powerful nation, with both its army and navy being formidable, not inferior to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, due to its limited land area and mineral resources, the industrial development of the Island Nation has been slow, and its industrial and economic levels are relatively low, even far behind that of Australasia today.

According to the data published by the Island Nation two years ago, its steel production output just surpassed 800,000 tons.

Development in two years could at most push the Island Nation’s steel production output to over 1 million tons, which is not even one-third of Australasia’s steel production output, highlighting the Island Nation’s lack in industrial development.

If industrial development is indeed taken into account, the Island Nation is destined to have a large gap in the proportion of its naval size compared to other countries.

Even more pessimistically, the current industrial level of the conflict-ridden Russia Country is not necessarily lower than that of the Island Nation.

This also means that, according to the British proposal, the Island Nation has no hope of catching up with other powers in terms of naval strength; as an island country, its development potential has been almost choked off. ꭆÂＮŎʙ˧

No matter how strong the army of the Island country may be, as long as their navy cannot match that of other countries, their army can only wander aimlessly on its own territory.

Island countries must pay attention to their navy. This is a necessary condition brought about by their geographical location and a fundamental basis for the strength of an island country.

Therefore, even if they are unwilling to offend the British again, the Island Nation representative must argue for the basis of dividing the proportion and size of each country’s navy.

At this stage, someone finally interrupted and refuted the British. The representatives of various countries were delighted and prepared to watch the drama unfold.

"Minister Grey, this plan is very unfair for the Island Nation. I demand to consider the scale and military strength of each country’s existing navy, rather than just referring to the overall strength and industrial level of the country." The Island Nation representative quickly stood up, rebutting while bowing to the British representative, not forgetting his manners.

Although the Island Nation representative stood up and openly opposed Britain, the Islander’s ally, the United States representative, did not think so.

While referring to overall national strength and industrial strength would be a big disadvantage for the Island Nation, the problem is that the current American industrial strength is definitely the first in the world, with a natural advantage in terms of navy scale.

But if the Island nation’s proposal is considered and the current military strength of each country is referred to, the Americans would have to give up their advantage.

After all, the United States’ current military scale is not very large; apart from having the world’s second largest navy, its army ranks last among the great powers. Explore stories at empire

"I’m afraid using each country’s current military strength as the basis is the most unfair!" said the representative of Australasia, smiling: "In addition to the defensive needs of each country, is there no factor in the current military strength of each country to provoke war?

If we reference the military strength of each country, I believe that we have violated the original intention of limiting navies and, instead, encouraged countries that do not have strong industries to focus on military development."

"The idea of protracted militarism is terrifying because it is more susceptible to a war that should not have happened due to the inability to afford the cost of a large army." The Australasian representative continued, "We cannot advocate this idea, and we should avoid proposals that use military strength to determine naval scale and proportion as much as possible.

If the Island Nation representative is unwilling to measure it using industry, then use the economy! Being able to support the expenditure needed for military strength is also the basis for judging whether a country is stable and will not blindly wage wars against others."

The words of the Australasian representative were an obvious jab at the Island Nation.

The representatives of various countries also showed their interest in the spectacle, looking at the somewhat surprised and frustrated Island Nation representative.

However, before the Island Nation could respond, the French representative stood up and expressed their agreement: "The Australasian representative is right. Economic strength is the standard for measuring whether a country can support its military strength."

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