Daming 1805

Chapter 150 Rainforest Protection and Territorial Sea

The level of technological development in this world has accelerated by almost 100 years compared to the same period in history.

However, there is not enough time and experience to accumulate various international systems and agreements.

The most important series of Geneva Conventions have not yet appeared, or no system and documents have been formed.

Some folks have made similar appeals, but the governments of various countries have not yet conducted formal consultations and agreements.

Zhu Jingyuan listed them first.

Zhu Jingyuan doesn't remember the original text of those documents, but his ideas and ideas are clear.

It is to restrict special weapons, protect prisoners of war and civilians, and provide protection for medical personnel, but also put forward basic requirements.

According to this direction, Zhu Jingyuan listed the most basic points, allowing the officials of Honglu Temple to diverge their thinking and complete the compilation of detailed content.

With the guidance of Zhu Jingyuan, the content of relevant regulations is very rich.

At the same time, the provisions of the conventions related to the prohibition of biological weapons such as bacteria and viruses, and chemical weapons such as toxins have been incorporated into the war-related conventions.

However, considering the actual situation, content such as anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs was not added.

The current form of warfare cannot avoid the use of such weapons.

The details are all on the issued document, Zhu Jingyuan just gave an outline, and then set aside time for the representatives to read it first.

In addition to these war-related conventions, Zhu Jingyuan also proposed a large number of other common agreements.

Territory, airspace, territorial sea related concepts and rights related regulations and conventions.

A convention for the protection of animals and plants in mountains, forests and water bodies, and avoiding biological invasion.

Conventions related to the ownership and protection of the ground and cultural monuments in Haiti.

Considering the current general cultural level and reality of the world, there are also some things that are taken for granted that are not listed, such as the prohibition of child labor.

The most critical part of these regulations, the content related to the rules of war, made many representatives quite agree.

On the whole, they embody the internal logic of controlling wars and protecting soldiers and civilians, and are quite fair on the whole.

I just feel that some places are too strict, and it may be difficult to implement, so I plan to raise them together after a little marking.

But there are some things in the back that make the representatives feel incomprehensible.

Questions were soon raised.

Prince Charles of France, Louis XVII in history, this young man seems very surprised:
"His Royal Highness, the ancient forests of Yajiang Rainforest, Nanyang Rainforest, and Congo Rainforest, do they really produce one-third of the earth's oxygen production?
"If they were destroyed, would it really be difficult for us to breathe? Would a lot of animals and even humans die?"

The real answer is of course not.

The rainforests in these three places don't play that big of a role.

But Zhu Jingyuan personally likes mountains and forests, and he doesn't want those mountains and forests to be destroyed, especially in this era when the environment is most severely damaged.

At the same time, Zhu Jingyuan remembered that in his previous life he had read some articles on the Internet that he didn't know were true or false.

In the southeast corner of the Congo region, there is a uranium mine with the highest uranium content in the world. The uranium mine for the atomic bomb dropped on Japan in World War II was mined there.

However, Congo is not a major exporter of uranium ore in later generations, and can only be counted in "others".

This shows that even if there are uranium mines in the local area, the actual reserves should not be high.

The world's most important uranium mine distribution areas, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada, have all been taken by Ming.

Zhu Jingyuan didn't want to occupy the Congo just for a little uranium mine.

But at the same time, Daming did not want Congo, the "world raw material warehouse", to be used by the Thai and Western countries, let alone destroyed by them.

So I plan to "seal" this land in the name of protecting the lungs of the earth.

Environmental protection is actually a means to restrict the development of backward areas.

It is conducive to maintaining an advantage over developed countries, allowing countries with a sufficiently large territory to gain greater advantages.

Now that Ming Dynasty has an advantage in both territory and industry, it can start to make use of environmental protection to make a fuss in advance.

With the technology and cultural level of this era, it is still difficult for people to understand what environmental protection is, let alone believe in environmental protection.

But you can start to establish and strengthen your cognition now. When the rhetoric for the future of all mankind gradually becomes a system, it will be difficult for the other party to reject it bluntly.

So Zhu Jingyuan didn't blush, he couldn't breathe, and he gave an affirmative answer with compassion:

"Yes, the information I have learned is that the rainforests in these three places have a huge impact on the earth's air.

"He is like the lungs of the whole earth, and to protect them is to protect the health and liberty of all of us.

"That's why I mentioned that our Ming Dynasty is responsible for protecting the rainforests in Nanyang and Yajiang, while the countries of Thailand and the West are jointly responsible for protecting the Congo rainforests.

"No country or individual shall destroy the forests and water bodies in the corresponding areas, and shall not mine mountains in the corresponding areas.

"In addition, the 'kidneys' of the earth, lakes and other surface water bodies and wetlands should also be jointly protected.

"It is recommended to set up a special agency under the International League to supervise and manage the protection of mountains, forests and water bodies around the world."

Prince Charles was still a little innocent, so he subconsciously nodded and said:

"If this is true, it does need protection, to protect the common future of mankind..."

However, the representatives of the courts of the Thai and Western countries vaguely sensed the inner influence.

They don't know how much the actual effect of protecting the environment is, but if they do too much, it will undoubtedly limit their own development.

We don’t have many native lands and colonies. If you want to restrict the development of mountains, forests and water bodies, do we still have room to use them?

So disputes soon arose here, and court representatives from several countries opposed excessive protection.

It is absolutely not allowed to extend the so-called protection to all "mountains, forests and water bodies". This concept is too fatal.

After half an hour of debate, the two parties finally agreed that the clear range of forest and water protection is limited to Congo and Yajiang for the time being.

Whether to expand the scope and type in the future will be further discussed after the establishment of the League of Nations.

The countries of Thailand and the West feel that it is not a loss. Congo is still a land without owner, but Yajiang is already owned by Ming Dynasty.

I don't understand at all that Zhu Jingyuan didn't plan to develop the Yajiang Rainforest, but now he just sealed the Congo River Basin additionally.

Then Spanish Prime Minister Manuel opened his mouth, provoking another key topic:
"His Royal Highness, we believe that the territorial waters of three nautical miles are too narrow, which is the range of artillery in the era of front-mounted guns.

"We think it should be expanded to at least twelve nautical miles, and the current artillery range can reach twelve nautical miles."

Zhu Jingyuan replied helplessly:
"The actual reason is that the width of the Strait of Gibraltar is exactly seven nautical miles, and the territorial waters of three nautical miles just cannot be completely covered, right?

"The territorial waters exceed three nautical miles, so the entire Strait of Gibraltar is Spanish territorial waters, right?
"Actually, Prime Minister Manuel does not need to be nervous. In the case of the Strait of Gibraltar, there will be supplementary regulations later.

"Because there are other countries in the Great Qinhai, it is not an inland sea exclusive to Spain.

"So the Strait of Gibraltar, which is an access point, and similar straits in other seas, should be considered international straits.

"Countries bordering the strait cannot completely and exclusively close it.

"No matter how wide your territorial waters are, you cannot prohibit the normal entry and exit of ships from countries across the strait.

"It's better to set three nautical miles directly, and leave a narrow passage in the middle of Gibraltar to allow other countries to freely enter and exit."

In Zhu Jingyuan's previous life, he must have supported the larger the territorial waters, the better.

You can even learn from Yinzhou's Peru and other countries, directly claiming 370 kilometers of territorial waters.

Of course, Peru is not smoking, and it is such a wide territorial waters, because the width of the Peruvian fishing zone is 370 kilometers, which can be fully covered.

In this world, Zhu Jingyuan began to support the territorial waters of three nautical miles, or even lower.

Because the Ming navy is strong, it will become even stronger in the future, and will control the sea power in most areas.

The actual territorial waters of a sea power state are not at all as wide as the few nautical miles stipulated by international law, but the range that the navy can actually control.

Therefore, the so-called high seas in international law are actually the actual territorial waters of sea power hegemons.

Now the entire Daming Ocean belongs to Ming, and no country will expressly oppose it.

On the other hand, the width of the territorial waters of other countries is of course as small as possible.

The narrower the territorial sea, the more convenient it is for close-range deterrence operations.

In particular, the Strait of Gibraltar is just over seven nautical miles wide.

If calculated according to the territorial sea of ​​three nautical miles, even if both sides are Spanish territory, there is still one nautical mile of high seas in the middle.

Daming can go in and out directly.

But this is not enough. Some straits are less than six nautical miles, and the territorial waters of three nautical miles can be sealed off.

In order not to be blocked by the corresponding country, an "international strait" must be set up.

This is not just for the convenience of Daming, but more to resolve the dispute between Lucia and Ottoman.

Manuel actually saw the relevant content, but still insisted.

The logic of international straits seems to be taken for granted, but Spain, the country that controls the entrance and exit of key straits, does not want to accept it.

And Spain's objection is not for other reasons, I am to block you Daming!
But this can't be said directly, only another way of saying it:

"Even so, we still insist on having at least twelve nautical miles of territorial waters, and the traffic regulations cannot just allow it so easily..."

Zhu Jingyuan laughed directly and said:

"You don't have to think about the idea of ​​completely sealing off the straits. The relevant regulations must not be regulated for each strait, but must be relatively universal.

"Denmark and Ottoman cannot completely block Lucia's access to the sea, otherwise it will be a new round of war.

"And avoiding war is why we have all kinds of compromise rules."

The Ottomans control Lucia's access to the Black Sea, and Sweden-Denmark controls Lucia's access to the Baltic Sea.

In both places the straits are very narrow, not more than six nautical miles at their narrowest point.

According to the basic rules of the Convention, these places will be the territorial waters or even internal waters of coastal countries, and should enjoy absolute sovereignty.

Therefore, Zhu Jingyuan referred to the experience of later generations in the law of the sea and asked the countries in these places to allow ships from other countries to pass.

But at the same time, it stipulates that the sovereignty of these waters still belongs to the coastal countries, and they have the rightful jurisdiction.

Passing ships can be required to follow their own designated channel.

Vessels from other countries must abide by the regulations of the countries along the coast, and must not do anything that damages the security and interests of the countries along the coast.

Including, but not limited to, stopping for observation, testing any weapons, conducting any military training, passing diving status, fishing and exploration, etc.

This is actually a compromise.

It is absolutely impossible for a country like Lucia to directly block the entrances and exits of the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea in full accordance with the rigid territorial sea rules.

It seems that because of being named, Lucia's representative, Wedemeyer, spoke, and seemed very determined to interject a few words:
"International straits that lead to the territorial waters of other countries cannot be recognized as territorial waters of coastal countries, otherwise the countries behind the straits will not be able to enter and exit normally.

"There must be an international public passage between such straits, no matter how wide they are."

Now Lucia directly requests that these places should not be used as territorial waters.

The Swedes were not there, but the Ottomans were, and Grand Vizier Zayedin made a direct tit-for-tat request:

"We don't accept the so-called right of way. Our territorial waters are our land, and we can deny the passage of ships from any country..."

As soon as Zhu Jingyuan heard it, he slapped the table:
"What are you doing? Lucia, think about it, Osman really won't let you pass, what can you do?
"Osman, think about it too, if you really block it completely, what will Lucia do?
"How much area do you two dispute? How much sea area will we open up related rights in Ming Dynasty?
"If you are not allowed to pass through all the straits and sea areas of Ming Dynasty, what can you do?
"I think this compromise is very interesting, so don't play any roof-lifting strategy here!
"This is a very necessary compromise. Both of you have to accept it if you accept it, and you have to accept it if you don't accept it!"

The representatives of the two countries just expressed their attitudes, and now they shut up without hesitation.

But Spain's Manuel insisted for granted:
"We are still asking for the territorial waters to be changed to twelve nautical miles."

At the same time, the British Prime Minister Peter also followed closely, and the main transport gave Spain support:
"We can accept the relevant regulations on the right of way, and we also believe that the width of the territorial sea should be increased to [-] nautical miles."

Then Portugal and Italy, and even France also expressed their support.

They also realized that the impact of the internationally recognized territorial sea has different meanings for countries with different levels of sea power.

Given their current status, it is better to choose a slightly larger but relatively reasonable range.

Zhu Jingyuan frowned slightly, the representatives of most countries are not easily fooled.

Although I knew from the beginning that it was difficult to directly set the territorial waters of three nautical miles by default, it was impossible to just agree to them:
"Twelve nautical miles is impossible. The concept of territorial sea originally originated from the range that countries on the coast can control, or the strike range of coastal artillery.

"It is now impossible for our artillery to operate at a distance of twelve nautical miles.

"Currently the most common naval combat distance is still between five and six kilometers, and three nautical miles is exactly five and a half kilometers, so three nautical miles is better."

Pete immediately went on to retort:
"The range of shore artillery and the combat distance of the navy are two different things. Now the maximum range of shore artillery has reached [-] kilometers, and the actual combat distance of even naval artillery has exceeded [-] kilometers."

Zhu Jingyuan already knew that Pete would say this:
"The theoretical combat distance has just reached ten kilometers, so let's set the territorial waters to six nautical miles, which is about eleven kilometers."

Pete thought about it, and decided to grind it a little further:
"We think there should be at least ten nautical miles. Artillery technology is still developing at a high speed, and we must leave room for the future."

Zhu Jingyuan glanced at the representatives of other countries:
"Why don't we set a unified standard, but use our own weapons to strike distances to calculate the width of our respective territorial waters?"

Pete is not going to compete with Da Ming in the range of shore cannons. No one can catch up with Da Ming in the technology of this thing.

So Pete immediately and decisively decided not to dawdle:
"That's still six nautical miles!"

Pete looked at the representatives of other countries, and they also nodded and said:
"Six nautical miles is six nautical miles."

(End of this chapter)