Chapter 543: The Southern Ryukyu Islands
"Father-in-law, the Navy has recently redeployed three ironclads. I'm preparing to acquire a colony in the Far East."
"Oh? You have something in mind?"
The Far East was undoubtedly one of the most enticing regions during the colonial era. East Africa's Huaihai Economic Zone and Zhuhai Trade Zone were among the Hechingen consortium's key markets. However, these two areas only counted as economic colonies.
There's not much to say about economic colonization—it remained the most common form even in the 21st century. Just like foreign aid to Africa, it was essentially a form of economic colonization.
Colonization, by nature, meant using the local population to create value for external capital. East Africa wasn't playing the good guy either—without profit in the Far East, it wouldn't have initiated the Huaihai or Zhuhai zones.
In the previous life, the U.S.-led global trade system was the ultimate form of economic colonization. Colonies, by definition, were territories whose political and economic independence was stripped by capitalist states. Most of America's allies and client states fell into this category.
Compared to that, East Africa itself was more like a traditional colony, albeit without a colonial master. Its nearly 20 million Black slaves were proof of that.
Ernst pulled out a map from his drawer and spread it across the table—it was a map of the Far East's maritime region.
"Father-in-law, you visited the Far East last time. You should be familiar with this area," Ernst said, pointing to the location of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
"I remember a bit, but isn't this place hard to take?"
Archduke Ferdinand understood that the so-called Ryukyu Kingdom was highly complicated, with both the Far Eastern Empire and Japan holding vested interests.
"Yes, that's why I'm not targeting the entire Ryukyu Islands, just the southern Ryukyu Islands."
The Southern Ryukyu Islands, known in Japan as the Sakishima Islands, are the southernmost part of the Ryukyu chain. They consist of the Miyako and Yaeyama island groups.
These names might be unfamiliar, but the "Miyako Strait" should ring a bell to anyone who followed world news in the previous life. The Southern Ryukyus lie just south of that strait and are crucial to controlling it.
"Didn't the Far Eastern Empire and Japan have a dispute over the Ryukyus last year?" Ferdinand asked.
At the end of 1879, Japan decided to abolish the Ryukyu Kingdom and establish Okinawa Prefecture, which the Far Eastern Empire—nominally the suzerain of the Ryukyus—strongly opposed.
Japan then proposed a compromise: dividing the islands. The Far Eastern Empire would take the Southern Ryukyus, while Japan would keep the central and northern portions, in exchange for most-favored-nation status in their friendly treaty. The Qing government naturally refused. At the time, the Far Eastern Empire wasn't exactly treating Japan politely. Japan's "Leave Asia, Join Europe" slogan wasn't earning it much favor, so the two nations entered a standoff, leaving the region disputed and without a defined sovereign.
Even by the 21st century, the Southern Ryukyu Islands were still considered territory of the Far Eastern Empire, as stated in the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation. Japan's occupation was deemed illegal.
Ernst thought East Africa might as well take advantage and occupy it. With neither the Far Eastern Empire nor Japan having a strong navy, East Africa could just force its way in.
So Ernst said to Ferdinand, "No worries. When the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman profits. We'll negotiate economic privileges with the Far Eastern government first, and by the end of the year we'll start the process of making it a colony."
This was East Africa's usual method. The Lanfang overseas province had become East African territory through similar means. But Ernst wasn't planning to directly annex the Southern Ryukyus—it would become a colony instead.
Why wait until the end of 1880? Because that's when Japan formally abolished the Ryukyu Kingdom in history.
That would be the perfect time for East Africa to set up a puppet state in the Southern Ryukyus. With the kingdom gone, neither the Far Eastern Empire nor Japan could object. And with their weak navies, they couldn't stop East Africa either. The East African Navy had already made a strong impression in the Far East.
Of course, Ernst still showed respect to the Far Eastern Empire by acquiring control over the region from them. Since they couldn't defend it, giving East Africa administrative authority allowed them to save face. Nominally, the land remained under the Far Eastern Empire; in reality, it became an East African colony.
Whether it returned to the Far Eastern Empire someday depended on that nation's resurgence. If they became strong again, East Africa wouldn't be able to hold on.
Strategically, the Southern Ryukyus mattered to both Japan and the Far Eastern Empire. Japan valued sea power and had great ambition. The islands' position was vital to both nations.
East Africa's interest in the Southern Ryukyus was practical—it would serve as a stopover for the East Africa–Lanfang–Alaska route, or as a Far Eastern Empire route supply station. It would provide resources, maintenance, and troop logistics.
Sure, the Far Eastern coast could serve the same purpose. But Ernst had no intention of stationing troops there—that would effectively turn the Far Eastern Empire into a colony.
The Southern Ryukyus weren't small and were resource-rich. In modern times, they could support over 100,000 people. In this era, a population of 10,000 would suffice—making occupation easy for East Africa.
"Well, if you have a plan, I won't object. But don't expect diplomacy alone to secure a firm foothold."
It wasn't even governance—it was trusteeship. East Africa was suggesting to administer the region on the Far East's behalf. That meant little to East Africa but was very important to the Far Eastern Empire. It was a matter of national pride. Even if nominal ownership remained, it still looked better on paper. After all, when you're buried in debt, what's one more?
The real reason the Far Eastern Empire was still arguing with Japan was its long history of isolation. From 1840 to now, only 40 years had passed. Their shipbuilding, ports, navy, and sailors were still new. Even Qingdao Port was developed with help from the Hechingen consortium. Otherwise, Japan wouldn't have dared be so provocative.
In terms of maritime development, the Far Eastern Empire lagged behind even East Africa. East Africa had only emerged two or three decades after the Far East opened up, but the Far East did so gradually. Many coastal bays had been undeveloped wastelands. It wasn't until the Boxer Protocol that real modernization began.
Many of the modern ports in the Far East hadn't been built yet—only those opened by foreign coercion were functional.
Of course, that didn't mean ports didn't exist under isolation—they just lacked official endorsement and thus couldn't develop. After all, the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia didn't swim there.
East Africa started late, but with German technological support, Austro-Hungarian naval training, the Hechingen consortium's global trade network, immigrant and slave trade expansion, overseas colonies, and port construction, it had developed its maritime sector quite well—at least it hadn't fallen behind.
East Africa was also a closed-off state, but it actively developed maritime capacity. It just didn't allow foreign entities to participate directly in its maritime trade. Its new ports were built for its own commercial fleets and navy—a one-way valve form of isolationism, unlike the Far Eastern Empire, which isolated even itself.
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