Rebirth of the Spanish Empire

Chapter 207 Strategic Significance

"The long-awaited meeting of the 19 royal families officially came to an end yesterday. The biggest achievement of this gathering is that the 19 countries have officially reached an agreement. They will establish a coordination organization to coordinate the monarchy of various countries. Coordination work, and for the betterment of this organization, therefore, the United Kingdom, the German Empire, Spain, the Kingdom of Russia, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire officially became members of the great power club of the organization. The emergence of such an organization, he will What changes will it bring to the world? Governments and media in various countries are currently discussing this on a large scale around the world. The following is Nia, a professional senior reporter in our weekly exclusive interview section of The Times. In this year's "International Online" world university rankings, a dialogue analysis was conducted by Mr. Edward George, the dean of the School of International Politics at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Nia: Can we talk about what you think is the cause of this?

George: This should actually be mentioned by King Alfonso XIII of Spain. I don’t know if my words are because of the displeasure of the King of Denmark, but I think so, because it can be seen from the beginning to the end. The logic is that Denmark only gets a little benefit from this, that is, it is the original founding country and the first host country of this conference. Other than that, it seems that there are not many benefits for it. It is different from the latter.

Looking at the other country that proposed the establishment of the system - Spain, this time it has gained the most benefits, such as the regional rotation system in the right to propose. This kind of system is relatively good for many countries in the past, especially big countries. To be fair, that is from a distance, but if we look closely, we will find that the things involved are actually the most beneficial to Spain."[

Nia: I don’t know what you mean?

George: Many people are also confused about the meaning of this. Haha, for example, if you look at the map, this regional rotation system itself has this kind of contradiction. If the three Nordic countries are to be held here, it will inevitably cause some problems. It is an unnecessary contradiction, but it is still minor. After all, there are few countries. But look at Eastern Europe, there are too many small countries there. On the contrary, the southern European countries have implemented Portugal as the only southern European country, which naturally reduces the contradiction a lot.

Therefore, the country that has benefited the most this time is Spain. In fact, seriously speaking, under the leadership of Spain’s current King Alfonso XIII in recent years, Spain has become the strongest and top country in the world economically. of ranks.

Nia: What about politics?

George: This is even more true in politics. Don’t believe it. Let’s review Spain’s various strategic moves. The first time was the land exchange between Britain and Spain. In addition to economic development, Spain also gained positive political influence in world public opinion. Later, it used Spain's economy to fund various governments and projects around the world. Charitable activities, etc., have made Spain very popular in the world and won the friendship of many countries around the world. The most successful one is naturally in South America, where the Spanish government now even has the same sense of trust as the local government. Even higher.

Nia: That’s not bad. I remember when I was interviewing the president of a South American country, she lamented this situation and lamented that Spain, a former colonial power, had become the most popular and desirable country in the country.

George: This is the image offensive composed of political strategy, culture and funds. This move has been used vividly in Spain. Strategically speaking, in addition to these, Spain has also used many other unnecessary actions in recent years to maintain their world image, such as the recent US Pacific confrontation in Hawaii, as well as the Pacific and Western confrontations in South America. Situation exercises held in various regions such as the Pacific and Indian Ocean have begun to deepen Spain's local influence. I don’t know if you have seen an investigative report in Japan some time ago about Japan’s impression of world powers on the front page?

Nia: No, I don’t know what it’s about?

George: I noticed in a Japanese newspaper some time ago that the report specifically made an investigation report on the Japanese, mainly on Britain, the German Empire, France, Spain, Russia, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The problem of the country’s impression of people in the above three social levels.

The final result is: Britain is the largest country in the world, Spain is second, the German Empire is third, and France is fourth. Russia is fifth, the United States is sixth, and Japan is seventh. Italy is eighth and Austria-Hungary is ninth. These were ranked by Austria and the Japanese themselves, but in the rankings that affected Japan, Spain ranked first.

Nia: Why is this? I think many people will be as curious as me?

George: I was also curious at first, but after reading their reasons, I agreed. Their reason was that Spain had begun to enter Japanese society in large numbers due to economic reasons, and in terms of military, Spain's military presence in the Guam archipelago is now the largest military presence outside Japan, and its military presence in the South Pacific and the eastern Pacific of South America, as well as a large number of allies, have formed a problem for Japan. Whether it is actual threats and pressure, or psychological pressure, all Japanese, including Prime Minister Katsura Taro, have Spain's greatest influence in the Pacific in their minds. It is precisely based on this that Spain has gained the first influence in the hearts of the citizens of this emerging power in the Pacific.

Then came the United Kingdom, and then the German Empire. These two countries were naturally colonies, and then came the United States. The United States paid Japan every year to absorb its industrial products, allowing the Japanese to live a happy life. A prosperous life, therefore, for them, the United States, a small military country, also affects them. Later, Russia had a competitive relationship in the Far East to a certain extent, and formed a psychological and practical impact on Japan's expansion. Because of the checks and balances in the Far East, Italy and Austria-Hungary were ranked fifth because they had less interests in the Far East, so their influence was minimal.

Having said all that, I want to say that the decline in the influence of this ally of Britain in the Far East has caused many British people to worry.

Nia: It is indeed an issue that everyone is concerned about now. I don’t know, is there any way to increase Britain’s influence in the region?

George: In fact, this has been discussed on a large scale, especially in academic discussions in colleges. For example, many professors and students at Oxford University are discussing this issue. Not long ago, exchange students from Spanish universities even came to our Oxford University. When I was in the School of Political Science at the university, we held a debate competition specifically for this purpose.

Nia: The theme is how can Britain increase its influence in the Far East?

George: Of course not. What is the priority of the two countries’ policies in the Far East?

That is which country has more advantages. [

Nia: The end result?

George: But it was these students in Spain who won.

Nia: I think a lot of people will be curious, so can you tell us a little bit about it?

George: Of course, they first listed the two countries’ attitudes towards the governance of overseas territories. They directly gave this item a perfect score.

It pointed out that the British did not win the hearts and minds of the local people and only focused on competing for resources while ignoring the anger of the local people. Therefore. This hid a huge wave of resistance and chaos, making the British even less interactive and sympathetic locally, and therefore had an unstable rear for external expansion.

On the contrary, Spain has streamlined its colonial governance and expanded its immigration policy for natives, so that the local area has been firmly under Spanish rule. Economically, it has also vigorously developed various tasks to promote local development, making the local area regardless of the situation. Both outsiders and locals have made progress in life, and their sense of identity is rising steadily. This allows Spain to take into account the rapid increase in influence from all directions.

Based on this, their scores were 75 points for the UK and 85 points for Spain. This view is recognized by most people, including teachers and students at Oxford University.

Nia: What is the reason why Spain is 15 points short?

George: Hard power! Although Spain has gained incomparable influence in the Pacific Ocean from other countries outside the region, on land, it is difficult to match the huge influence of Britain, Russia, France and even Japan in the Far East. You must know that Spain's greatest influence is now The Kingdom of Siam also struggled for survival among the British and French, and although the well-known Common Progress Association was influential in the Revolutionary Mng Party, the Qing government was still ruling the country at this time. Speaking of which, every country has its own agents, but Japan, Spain and the United States have greater influence.

The second item is the issue of strategic significance.

The strategic significance of Spain that I just expressed in recent years was also summarized from the debate between the two parties about Spain. I remember I commented before when the German Empire and Spain formed a strategic partnership. This relationship would have an impact on various relationships in the world and could ease conflicts between countries. It also has great vitality. The current strategic partnership between Britain and Spain can prove this.

Spain used this on the Kingdom of Siam, which effectively gained the country's recognition. Therefore, Spain gained a stronghold on the Far Eastern Continent, while Britain (to be continued).