African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1261: Chapter 270: Phuket Island

September 7, 1916.

Lamu Port.

The East African Indian Ocean Fleet is formally preparing to take over the region ceded by Siam, which the East African Government has named the Kra Strait Territory after gaining independence from Siam.

East African Naval Admiral Kolitz addressed the officers and soldiers, saying, ”Phuket Port should become a strategic stronghold for our navy in the East India Sea, establishing an overseas base for the Indian Ocean Fleet here, thereby allowing our naval influence to truly impact the entire Indian Ocean.”

Though the East African Indian Ocean Fleet is highly renowned, claiming to be the strongest navy in the Indian Ocean, its actual influence in the Indian Ocean is not as substantial.

The primary reason for this is East Africa’s lack of territories in the Eastern Indian Ocean region.

In the past, in the Northern Indian Ocean - approximately the Bay of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf regions - East Africa faced a similar situation. However, with the establishment of the Beibu Gulf Territory, East Africa successfully gained a foothold in the Northern Indian Ocean region. Additionally, the Northern Indian Ocean’s proximity to East Africa’s mainland made the poor carrying capacity of the Beibu Gulf Territory less of an issue.

But this is not the case for the Eastern Indian Ocean. In the Eastern Indian Ocean, East Africa previously had no territory or naval base, making its naval influence far less than that of the United Kingdom and France.

The emergence of the Kra Strait Territory now greatly resolves the issue of the Indian Ocean Fleet lacking strategic strongholds in the Eastern Indian Ocean area.

East Africa’s division of the Eastern Indian Ocean is quite simple, with the southernmost point of India as the divider. The vast sea area east of India, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra Island, Java Island, and west of Australia is the general range of the Eastern Indian Ocean.

Important sea areas or maritime pathways like the Bay of Bengal, Burma Sea, Malacca Strait, Timor Sea, and the Great Australian Bight are all part of this sea area.

Although East Africa possesses numerous overseas territories in the South Sea Region, these overseas territories belong to the Pacific Ocean domain, not the Indian Ocean region.

Thus, Kolitz, the veteran general of the East African Navy, is quite excited about East Africa obtaining the Kra Strait Territory this time.

He said, ”The position of Phuket Port is right between the Malacca Strait and the Burma Sea. By building a naval port here and stationing a fleet, it can effectively deter East-West trade routes.”

Originally, the East African Navy hoped to acquire Ling Family Island southeast of Phuket Port. However, that island was already occupied by the British, so they had to settle for Phuket Port.

For the navy, while Phuket Port’s conditions are advantageous, it’s backed by the continental part of the Southeast Asia mainland, whereas Ling Family Island is a large island in the western part of the Malacca Strait.

Islands generally have better defenses, being easier to defend and harder to attack. Furthermore, a strait separates Ling Family Island from the Malay Peninsula, making it safer. The island also boasts favorable conditions, rich freshwater resources, and a considerable land area capable of hosting a significant population and at least easily stationing a squadron.

However, apart from this first point, Phuket Port lacks any significant weaknesses, and the land threats mainly come from Myanmar and Siam, which can be largely ignored as long as East Africa doesn’t decline.

In fact, Phuket Island, where Phuket Port is located, is itself an island, the largest island of Siam in previous generations, and a world-renowned tourist destination. However, being close to the mainland, its island characteristics aren’t apparent on large-scale maps.

A specialized and customized map reveals that a strait separates its northern end from Siam, but this strait is only a few hundred meters at its narrowest point, easily traversable even by using wooden planks.

”Phuket Port does not belong to the Kra Strait Territory. The government and naval senior management decided that Phuket Island would be administered directly by the central government, primarily serving naval purposes.”

”This arrangement is similar to the central administration of the Lanfang Overseas Province and East Kalimantan Colony.”

The Lanfang Overseas Province and East Kalimantan region can indeed be considered as a whole. However, after acquiring East Kalimantan, the East African Government didn’t intend to merge the two into one entity.

Generally, many countries merge several colonies to save on colonial administration and management costs.

For instance, the British Indian colony included what were multiple countries in past generations. The Dutch East Indies colony was similar. Without the forceful consolidation by these two colonizers, unified regions like India and Indonesia would have been impossible in past generations.

A classic example is the French Indochina colony in past generations. After Vietnam defeated France in past generations, it sought to inherit other parts of the French Indochina colony, like Laos and Cambodia, stirring up trouble in Southeast Asia.

This illustrates how colonial activities profoundly impacted global politics in past generations. Normally, regions like India, Indonesia, and Malaysia should have fragmented into numerous small countries. However, colonizers integrated them, resulting in large, unified nations.

The East African Government and Navy’s decision to separate Phuket Island from the Kra Strait Territory also stems from this influence.

In Ernst’s view, East Africa can never fully integrate the Kra Strait Territory domestically, as East Africa did not aim to alleviate poverty in past eras, similar to how the United States was unwilling to annex Mexico, the Philippines, or Puerto Rico.

Therefore, aside from the Lanfang Overseas Province, recent East African colonial activities have avoided incorporating remote territories as provinces.

East Africa has diverse objectives for the Kra Strait, including fostering a pro-East African state there in the future, establishing a new ”Rhine” homeland, and expanding East African influence in the region.

As the Kra Strait Territory is not intended to be governed within the East African system, significant development or investment in the Kra Strait is not planned.

The Kra Strait Territory’s area is a massive 50,000 square kilometers, roughly half the size of a province in the past Far East Empire.

However, separating Phuket Island is an entirely different matter. Phuket Island covers only about 500 square kilometers, with East Africa’s interests there being mainly military and strategic.

This place will become the regional center for the East African Indian Ocean Fleet in the East Indian Sea, evolving into a large, comprehensive military fortress for sea, land, and air operations.

The construction of military ports, airports, barracks, and other facilities will exert significant deterrent power on regional nations in the South Sea, India, and Myanmar.

On land, it can directly threaten Siam and Myanmar; at sea, it can threaten the Malacca Strait and surrounding waters; in the air, the range is much larger, especially after the Air Force formally rises.

Once Phuket Island is controlled and its military fortress completed, East Africa’s influence in the Indian Ocean will be unprecedentedly bolstered, ensuring the security of East African territories in the South Sea Region.

For instance, the Malacca Strait was previously a crucial tool for the British to constrain East Africa’s Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean fleets. Yet, once the Phuket Island military fortress is completed, the East African forces can blockade the British colony from two sides in the Malacca Strait.

Furthermore, Phuket Island’s significance extends far beyond this. Although it may not be as crucial as the Malacca Strait or especially the Singapore Strait, it can ensure East Africa screens and counteracts all ships passing through the Malacca Strait, safeguarding the passage of East African merchant ships.

This mirrors Dedradawa City in East Africa; as long as Dedradawa City remains under East African control, it can threaten British Somaliland and French Djibouti, and even secure the safety of the Italian Red Sea Colony.

This is a typical strategic balancing technique utilized by East Africa, which has a brief history and must rely on ”Land of No Master” areas as strategic footholds in the post-colonial era.

The Far East Empire frequently used this method in past generations. For instance, with crucial pathways like the Malacca Strait and Suez Canal under Western control, the Far East Empire strategically occupied secondary key areas instead.