The Rise of Australia

Chapter 560 Busy countries, busy world

If the Allied Powers in World War I shared the same enemy, then the Allied Powers after World War I were in chaos.

This chaos is no joke. After the Russian Civil War, the United States, and the United Kingdom faced the threat of independence wars, France also faced a big crisis.

Im convened a meeting of the leaders of 12 large tribes in the Rif region and jointly adopted the National Declaration, which also represented the de facto independence of northern Morocco and openly resisted the French and Spanish occupation of Morocco.

Speaking of Morocco, it is actually not unfamiliar. The great powers in this area also led to two Moroccan crises, but eventually France and Spain divided Morocco.

However, due to the resistance of the Moroccans, France and Spain only occupied the plains of Morocco, and some of the mountainous areas were still under the rule of Moroccan tribes.

From the first tooth, the invasion of Morocco was strengthened and the Rif Mountains were invaded.

But what I didn't expect was that, under the leadership of the local tribal chief Abdul Kerim, the Rif defeated a full 20,000 Spanish troops in late July, and then launched a battle in Melilla in August. A beautiful offensive and defensive battle forced more than 3,000 Spanish soldiers to surrender.

Since then, the resistance to colonial rule in Morocco has continued to strengthen. This has also made the two countries that divided Morocco, France and Spain, very afraid and decided to quickly eliminate the resistance forces in Morocco.

However, because of its lack of attention to the Rif, France did not strengthen its troops in Morocco. It only assigned heavier tasks to the colonial army to ensure that the local Moroccans would not pose a threat to French Morocco.

The French were still laughing at the weakness of the Spanish, who were able to wipe out an army of more than 23,000 men by a tribe with a population of less than 20,000.

But soon, the French stopped laughing.

With the signing of the National Declaration, it also meant that the Moroccan rebellion, including that of the Rif, was defined by various countries as a war of independence.

Krim enjoyed great prestige in the Rif because of his victory over the Spanish, and quickly formed a Rif army united by various tribes.

Perhaps because of the passion for independence and freedom, the combat effectiveness of this army has become very powerful.

In the two months of late September and October, the Rif army was almost unimpeded in Spanish Morocco, defeating many Spanish armies one after another, and almost liberating most of Spanish Morocco.

This immediately panicked Spain and sent up to 100,000 troops to counter the rebellion, but they were quickly repelled by the Rif army, which was more familiar with the terrain.

Seeing that things had gone beyond their own development, the Spaniards quickly contacted France and requested to sign a military alliance treaty to form a coalition to jointly attack the Rif Republic.

You know, the Irish War of Independence has just ended, and people around the world are still very enthusiastic about this kind of independence war.

If the Rif War of Independence is deemed by various countries to be a just war, then even the powerful France will have to consider the opinions of the people at home and abroad.

The problem in Morocco made the British relieved, because it also meant that all the powerful powers in the world were busy with wars.

Under such circumstances, Britain's previous Irish problem will be covered up, and it will be free to deploy the country's next strategy, and take the opportunity to develop its own armaments while other countries are busy with wars.

Although the French did not explicitly support Irish independence before, there were still unknown forces that influenced the French and British people.

The British are naturally very vindictive. While the negotiations between France and Spain were ongoing, a wave of strikes and demonstrations had already begun in France.

Even not just in France, many sympathetic Europeans are holding general strikes and demonstrations to express support for the Rif's independence struggle.

Yes, it's so magical. The French did not agree with the French government's aggression in the Rif, demanded that the government withdraw its troops from the Rif, and supported Rif independence.

Against this background, many French soldiers who carried out cruel policies in Morocco refused to shoot at the Moroccans, and even celebrated with the Moroccan army.

Muslims in other parts of North Africa have also supported Rif independence, and it seems unrealistic to use force to solve the Rif problem.

Against this background, a secret meeting was held in London on the 1st. The participating countries only included the British Empire, the United States, Australasia, France and island countries.

Theoretically, these five countries are currently the five most powerful countries in the world, and many other powers, including Italy, are not opponents of these countries.

The first topic of the meeting of the five countries was the Treaty on Island Dependencies and Territories in the Pacific Region.

The background of this issue is very complicated. The United States wants to expand in the Pacific, and the United Kingdom wants to curb the expansion of the United States. Island countries want to gain greater rights in the Pacific, but Australasia is currently the most powerful country in the Western Pacific.

However, this issue does not have any intention of carving up territory. It is more about mutual commitments by countries to respect each other's territory and territorial rights and avoid more disputes.

The most important one is that the five countries that signed the treaty stipulate that the five countries that signed the treaty should respect each other's rights to their island possessions and island territories in the Pacific region. If there is a dispute between all the contracting countries on a certain issue in the Pacific, it cannot be resolved through diplomatic channels. When a satisfactory solution is achieved, a conference of States Parties should be convened to resolve the matter.

When the rights of a contracting state in the Pacific region are threatened by other countries, the contracting states shall conduct comprehensive consultations so that they can jointly or individually take the most effective measures to deal with the situation.

This so-called five-nation treaty also specifically stipulates that: 1. The entente concluded in London between Britain and the island countries should be terminated.

The five countries signed this treaty for their own purposes, generally speaking, to protect their rights in the Pacific.

In fact, there is one more thing to consider here, that is, the Philippines theoretically belongs to the Pacific coast and is land controlled by the United States, and should be protected.

After Australasia signed this treaty, it was equivalent to adding a layer of constraints to conquering the land of the Philippines.

But in fact, Arthur also considered the changes brought about by this treaty. However, the five-nation treaty mentioned that disputes between the contracting parties have not been resolved through diplomatic channels and a conference of the contracting states should be convened to resolve them.

Among the five countries, Australasia has won the support of Britain and France and is leading in terms of votes.

The reason why Arthur stood firmly on the British side during the Irish War of Independence was so that the British would firmly stand on the side of Australasia during the Philippine War of Independence.

This is also a naked exchange of interests. For Britain and Australasia, the results of Ireland or the Philippines are not important. What is important is the attitude of mutual support between allies and the achievement of their own strategic goals.

Although the treaty on island possessions and territories in the Pacific region, the so-called Five-Nation Treaty, seemed simple, it still took nearly ten days to reach.

This also led to the time for the next meeting to come to the 1st.

The next meeting was very important, and it was the naval limitation treaty that had been proposed for a long time.

A treaty concerning the proportional distribution of navies among various countries should naturally be decided by the five most powerful countries in the world, rather than numerous small countries.

This is also the truth of this world. The strong determine the weak, and the weak determine the weaker.

On the first day of the second topic, the United States preemptively proposed a plan to limit naval armaments that would be beneficial to the United States based on the current investigation situation:

First, all countries that have signed naval limitation treaties immediately stop building main warships;

Second, each country should demolish some old warships to ensure that the total tonnage of its navy is within the prescribed number;

Third, based on the current total tonnage of each country's navy and the economic and industrial conditions, the proportion of each country's navy should be 500,000 tons for the British and American main warships, and 300,000 tons for France, Australasia and the island countries. With reference to the tonnage ratio of the main warships, the proportional distribution of auxiliary warships will be completed according to specific conditions.

The U.S. calculation plan is quite ambitious. First of all, it is directly clarified that the tonnage of the U.S. military is the same as the British tonnage, which evens the gap between the U.S. and British navies.

Secondly, the island nation’s warship tonnage is the same as that of Australasia, which also means that the allies of the United States and Britain are also at the same level.

Taking into account the more advantageous geographical location of the United States, as well as the world's number one industry and economy, the overall strength is destined to be stronger than the United Kingdom under this division.

This was also the Americans' initial test of the British, and the first time they revealed their ambition to become a world hegemon.

Moreover, the tonnage ratio of 5 to 3 can also determine the naval gap between the United States and the island countries and Australasia.

Under the premise that the little brother of the island country is not very obedient, the United States is equivalent to killing three birds with one stone, becoming a joint maritime hegemon with the United Kingdom, and establishing naval superiority over the island country and Australasia.

However, this proposal, which was only beneficial to the United States, immediately aroused opposition from all countries.

It is impossible for the British to agree to share naval supremacy with the United States, and it is impossible for Australasia to agree that the size of its navy is on the same level as that of island countries.

The island country also has extraordinary ambitions. The island country also wants to shorten the gap with Britain and the United States, at least not in a ratio of 5 to 3.

At this time, the quarrel in the meeting was a bloody one.

The United States advocates a ratio of 5:5:3:3:3, the United Kingdom advocates a ratio of 7:5:4:4:3, France advocates a ratio of 5:5:5:4:3, and island countries advocate a ratio of 5:5:4: 3:3 ratio. As for Australasia, a ratio of 7:5:4:4:3 was also proposed. (The preceding and following are UK: US: France: Australia: Island)

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