The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 777 - 580: The British-French Game_1

Although he had changed his decision, Prime Minister Baldwin’s choice was also deliberate.

Why support Australasia’s inland expansion in the Persian Gulf rather than their scheming in El Salvador?

Though it appeared that the Persian Gulf’s interior had many large-scale Indigenous peoples, posing a greater challenge than El Salvador with its population of just over a million.

But the question is, who cares about the interests of the Indigenous Peoples? Compared with the interests of the Indigenous Peoples, the interests of El Salvador, a recognized independent country, are greater. For Australasia to occupy El Salvador without the support of the British Empire would be somewhat difficult.

The Prime Minister’s change of attitude pleased everyone and nearly secured unanimous Cabinet approval for the policy towards Australasia.

With Australasia’s support, everything that followed would be easy.

Prime Minister Baldwin turned his gaze back to the Foreign Minister and said emphatically, "The British Empire, as one of the permanent members of the World Alliance, has the responsibility, duty, and necessity to protect all countries worldwide.

Nicaragua may not be a member of the World Alliance, but it is very close to the Panama Canal and relates to the peace of the entire Central America and even the world.

I believe the World Alliance has the obligation to fulfill its responsibility as an international peace force and intervene in the Nicaraguan Civil War to ensure the peace of Central America and the entire world."

The arguments were unimportant; what mattered was Prime Minister Baldwin’s attitude, which was to take a firm stance against the United States, even at the risk of war.

With Prime Minister Baldwin’s order, the British Government began to operate, calling for an emergency meeting of the World Alliance to discuss how to deal with the ongoing Nicaraguan Civil War.

The British were unaware of the United States’ actions, but the new American President Calvin Coolidge was furious about the Nicaraguan Civil War and had even decided to intervene militarily.

As the superpower closest to the Central American countries, the control of the United States over many countries in Central America remains quite strong.

This includes, but is not limited to, establishing military bases and maintaining good diplomatic relations with local countries, and even forming joint companies to control the economies of these countries.

For the United States, Central America is even more of a backyard than a backyard, just like a newly purchased car or a newlywed wife, something they will not allow others to desecrate.

Not just desecration, but even a single glance was not permitted.

It was with this mindset, coupled with the American people’s attention to the new President and new government, that President Coolidge, to avoid following in President Wilson’s footsteps, announced his order on the second day of the Nicaraguan Civil War: "Deploy the military to intervene in the Nicaraguan Civil War with force!"

The United States’ use of military force for intervention was not surprising, since the Nicaraguan Civil War was itself a war launched by Augusto against the American occupation of Nicaragua.

One side of this war was the U.S. military base established in Nicaragua, and the participants were the U.S. Army from the base.

Without any strong action by the American Government, it simply wouldn’t be the American Government.

However, Nicaragua itself was not united; the country could roughly be divided into two factions, one relatively compliant with American rule and the other more opposed to it.

"Gentlemen, ladies! Nicaragua is engaged in a just war, and we cannot tolerate any country’s aggression against a sovereign state.

I propose that the World Alliance should intervene militarily in the Nicaraguan Civil War to protect the tranquility of every sovereign nation worldwide," declared the Representative of Britain at the start of the meeting, launching the session directly into the main topic with an impassioned speech.

"You’re right, the World Alliance was created to protect the sovereignty of all nations worldwide. Nicaragua’s independence is recognized by the world, and as an international peace organization, I believe we should fully respect and ensure the independence of Nicaragua as much as possible.

If any country seeks to interfere with Nicaragua’s independence, it would be a grave injury to world peace and to all nations present here," replied the representative of Australasia, standing up and responding in a seemingly righteous tone.

It was no secret that the two countries had already reached an agreement; Australasia’s support for the United States was a prearranged matter.

As expected, once the two powers made their positions clear, even the small and medium-sized countries reluctant to get involved had to carefully consider their stance.

The countries leaning towards France turned their gaze to the French representative, waiting for his speech and decision.

"Nicaragua is indeed an independent country, but it seems to me we have no reason to interfere in the civil war of an independent country, do we?" inquired the French representative.

France’s interests in the Pacific had significantly diminished, and it held no interest in deploying military forces to intervene in the civil war of Central American countries.

Such a move would bring no benefits to France; instead, it would offend the United States, as Britain would not allow France to gain land in Central America.

Moreover, given that this was evidently a premeditated plan by the British, the French were even less inclined to let Britain achieve its objectives.

A stronger Britain was not good news for France; the stronger Britain became, the lower the chances for France to dominate Europe.

In any case, finding a delicate balance between Britain and the United States was the outcome the French aimed for.

Being able to avoid offending both the British and the Americans while restraining Britain’s development would be the perfect solution.

"That’s not the case," the British representative countered. "If this were truly an internal civil war within Nicaragua, we indeed would have no reason to intervene. But the issue here is that this war is between the rightful independent forces of Nicaragua and some malign countries. We should be considering the stance of the Nicaraguan people, not how our intervention would impact us."

"Gentlemen, ladies! Have you forgotten the behavior of the United States during the Influenza? I do not believe it to be a friendly nation, nor do I think that the American troops in Nicaragua are acting for Nicaragua’s benefit.

As the most powerful country in the Americas, the United States should instead be respecting the independence and sovereignty of all countries in the Americas, rather than using its strength and influence to achieve its own ends." With no participation from the United States in the World Alliance, the British representative, as part of the strongest nation in the World Alliance, naturally had the liberty to speak his mind.

With the support of Australasia, the opposition of France, a permanent council member, carried no weight.

Besides, even if France opposed, it would not affect Britain’s military intervention in the Nicaraguan Civil War.

The main force of the military intervention would definitely not be the small and medium-sized countries of the World Alliance. The reason the British representative brought up the topic within the World Alliance was merely to gauge the attitudes of these countries.

Shifting the justification for their military intervention to a legitimate cause of the World Alliance was the true aim of the British and their current plan.