African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1259: Chapter 268: Disputes Over Territorial Details

As a former student who studied in the United Kingdom, Rama VI naturally had a considerable understanding of East Africa, who had a ”stalemate” with the British in the South African war. After all, when it comes to the influence of countries on the nations in the South Sea Region, several traditional powers, including the already declining Netherlands and Portugal, have a deep-rooted presence in the area.

Currently, the United Kingdom is the flagbearer in the South Sea Region, and there is no local country that does not fear the British, except, of course, the uncivilized natives in the jungles who are unafraid of life and death.

In fact, the more uncivilized these natives are, the more indifferent they seem to be about life and death. After all, their living environment is too harsh, and death and injury are commonplace for them.

As an ancient civilization in the South Sea Region, Siam is evidently much more ”clever,” which also leads to its current weakness in foreign diplomacy.

This is the sorrow of backward countries in the early 20th century: fear of the British, fear of the French, fear of the Germans, fear of the Spaniards... resulting in the latest ”fear of East Africa syndrome” that one or more of the powers are suitable for these small and weak countries.

Now, Siam is in such a situation, being ”served” alternately by three imperial nations: the United Kingdom, France, and East Africa, which could be considered a ”blessing” of sorts.

In recent years, with East Africa’s deepening colonial activities in the South Sea Region, it can be said that East Africa has firmly established its name as an imperial power in the area.

Besides East Africa, the United States, Japan, and Germany, as latecomers, are also new players in the South Sea colonization game. However, Germany’s colonial path has already been cut off, while the United States is still struggling in the Philippines, and Japan’s strength is limited. At least for now, Japan is powerless to intervene in the South Sea situation, with only East Africa making waves in a big way.

Thus, it can be said that Rama VI, understanding East Africa’s formidable military strength and its regional influence in the South Sea, chose to surrender decisively.

Being able to negotiate with East Africa now, at least, avoids the core territory being divided. If they wait until the East African Navy arrives, not only is there a risk of the Siamese navy being obliterated, but the compensation in terms of indemnities and land would only increase.

On September 1, 1916, Ande, the governor of the East African Lanfang Overseas Province, led a delegation to Bangkok to conduct detailed negotiations with the Siamese government.

Governor Ande said to Rama VI, ”According to the previous verbal agreement between our two countries, this territorial division mainly involves Siam’s territory on the Malay Peninsula, so we request that your country hand over all national territories south of Chumphon Province, including the islands, to our management.”

Siam’s primary administrative division is as a ”Province,” with the country divided into nearly seventy provinces, a status roughly equivalent to a ”Province, State, or Prefecture” as in other countries.

However, in the eyes of East Africans, what Siam calls a province is equivalent to the scale of a prefecture-level city, since Siam’s national area is only several hundred thousand square kilometers, divided into about seventy provinces, with each province averaging just over five thousand square kilometers.

Chumphon Province is one such administrative region, positioned at the narrowest part of the Kra Isthmus. However, its west side is Myanmar’s territory, not Siam’s.

However, Myanmar’s interior is mountainous, so the population is small, which is the key reason why Myanmar could not compete with Siam on the Malay Peninsula in the past.

On the other hand, Siam is abundant in plains and hills, with prosperous water systems and a dense population. This is the main reason Siam could resist Myanmar to the west and prevent infiltration by Arabian Religious Influence to the south within the region.

As Ande casually waved his hand over the map, Rama VI’s heart tightened, and he said, ”Your Excellency, this is impossible. According to your division method, Siam cannot afford it. Several provinces and regions in the north of the south, although remote, are quite populated, with fertile land and advantageous transportation position.”

”Therefore, we will not cede the northern provinces of the south. Siam can only accept transferring the southeastern provinces to East Africa’s jurisdiction.”

Observing the map reveals that Siam has a protruding section on the Malay Peninsula that extends into the region known as Malaysia in previous lives.

These regions are what Rama VI referred to as the southeastern provinces, which also include parts of Patani.

The Patani region was once the land of the Patani Sultanate, established in the fifteenth century, later destroyed by Siam in the mid-eighteenth century.

The name of the nation reveals its typical Arabian sect nature on the Indian Ocean coast, much like the Zanzibar Sultanate on East Africa’s coast once was.

Siam’s conquest of the Patani Sultanate is less than two hundred years old; the local indigenous beliefs certainly differ from Siam’s, compounded by the portion of Patani land ceded by the British.

It can be said that Patani has two layers of negative impact in Siam: religion and borders, making Patani and its surrounding areas naturally prone to division from Siam.

Thus, if East Africa annexes the southeastern provinces, it could be advantageous or disadvantageous for Siam. The disadvantages are obvious, while the advantage is that the Siamese government could shed this ”burden” and let East Africa separate the southern British, thus balancing the two.

Ande naturally could not agree with Rama VI’s proposal. Although East Africa does not mind annexing the Patani region, one Patani district alone is far from sufficient.

Ande said, ”This is impossible; we are determined to obtain Patani, as well as every other region.”

”After all, the southeastern provinces don’t even account for a third of our plan. If that’s the case, it’s far too short of our anticipated target.”

”It’s better we leave the Patani area with you and take the other regions, including Chumphon Province and others, to make things easier for you.”

Rama VI cursed Ande silently and thought miserably, what easier? He wasn’t coveting that little piece of Patani land.

Of course, it was not truly without greed, for more territory is certainly better. Yet Siam had no choice, so it could only cut its losses in time.

Thus, the Patani region became Rama VI’s bargaining chip. He hopes to discard this burden on East Africa to avoid other regions being ceded, but it’s apparent that East Africa’s ambition is too large; Patani alone cannot satisfy their greed.

Rama VI could only reluctantly change his stance and said, ”Adding the Songkla Province to the Patani region, this is our utmost sincerity.”

Songkla Province is considerably large, at least for a nation like Siam, and it is adjacent to the Patani region.

Ande replied calmly, ”We are determined to obtain the Tabi River Plain. So let’s use Chumphon Province as the boundary; we can give up claims to the southern Siam area, allowing you to continue controlling the lands south of Lokun, including Kamui.”

Rama VI believed he could glean East Africa’s intentions from this: they were clearly after the Tabi River Plain.

The Tapi River is Siam’s most significant southern river and the most densely populated region in southern Siam today.

East Africa evidently saw this because, in Rama VI’s mindset, these Western powers usually colonize areas with great economic value.

However, this precisely is the one region Siam cannot relinquish. Since East Africans find it valuable, it is even more crucial to Siam, for the Tabi River Plain is the essence of southern Siam.

In the era before the Malacca Strait’s rise, this area was a trade node between East and West. Thus, considering the fertility of the land, population density, and strategic value, Rama VI could not abandon it.

Even though Siam’s land is fertile, its national territory is small, making the Tabi River Plain immensely valuable to Siam despite its limited size.

Siam is a backward agricultural nation, with most of its revenue deriving from agriculture. The Tabi River Plain is one of the key areas of fiscal revenue for the country.

As for the regions further south, they are not yet effectively developed, with high governance costs, making them less important to Siam compared to the Tabi River Plain.