Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Unexpected Visitor (Happy New Year!)

On November 12th, 1902, as the whole year of 1902 was about to end, Australia welcomed an unexpected guest.

At the beginning of the year, the Island Nation had signed an alliance treaty with the British Empire. The purpose of this treaty was to contain the expansion of the Tsardom of Russia in East Asia, and also to protect the interests of both countries.

In fact, this treaty would also prompt the Russo-Japanese War to occur two years later, and after defeating the Far East army of the Tsardom of Russia, the Island Nation would officially gain recognition from other powers and become one of them in terms of strength and status.

However, this had no impact on Arthur and Australia, as Australia’s sphere of influence was only in Oceania, not even touching Southeast Asia, let alone the more distant East Asia.

But Arthur did not expect that Australia could also welcome the visit of the Island Nation.

This was a fleet from the Island Nation, most of the warships in the fleet were new British-made warships, and even the navy soldiers were specially trained in the United Kingdom.

Because of the reason of investing heavily in the construction of the navy from top to bottom, the current scale of the Island Nation’s navy is quite large, even on par with some powerful nations.

Arthur did not understand the intention of the Island Nation delegation, but still put on a smiling face and let Hunter Steward greet the delegation.

At the same time, Arthur also ordered the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to accompany them to find out the intention of the Island Nation delegation as soon as possible.

As a result, a meaningful business negotiation unfolded in the Government Building of Australia.

The attendees of the meeting were the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Royal Butler Hunter, and the head of the Island Nation delegation, Yukichiro Tamura, as well as diplomat Toshiyuki Hirano.

From the outset, Yukichiro Tamura acted very respectfully, even though the Island Nation’s strength far surpassed that of Australia, he still respectfully said, “Honorable Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Mr. Royal Butler Hunter, please allow me to express my highest respect to Australia and His Grace the Duke.”

“Australia has a good relationship with the British Empire, and our Island Nation has just formed an alliance treaty with the British Empire as well. A friend of a friend is a friend, and I believe we can establish a friendly treaty between us to strengthen our cooperation,” Yukichiro Tamura said straightforwardly.

“Mr. Yukichiro Tamura, we understand your request. What kind of cooperation are you referring to?” the Australian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs asked with a skilled smile.

“Australia is a prosperous and rich mining country, and many minerals are what we currently need. I think we can establish a trade treaty between us to strengthen the relationship between our two countries and solve our problem of insufficient mineral resources,” Yukichiro Tamura said.

Although the Island Nation has undergone decades of reforms and established a certain scale of industry, embarking on the path of Westernization and rise, due to the small land area and the fact of being a narrow island country, domestic mineral resources are not abundant, which indirectly limits the development of industry.

Take the steel production, which can currently measure the industrial level, for example, although the annual production capacity of the Island Nation’s steel factories can reach more than 50,000 tons and even break through 100,000 tons if production is increased,

there are not that many iron mines and coal mines in the Island Nation, which also means that the actual steel production in the Island Nation is uncertain, and how much can be produced depends entirely on the supply of coal mines and iron mines.

In this respect, Australia is much more fortunate. After more than two years of industrial development, Australia’s steel production is only between 61,000 and 93,000 tons, but the supply of iron and coal mines is unlimited.

Even the current steel production in Australia has surpassed that of the Island Nation, although it is still far from the level of European powers, but it has barely reached the level of ordinary European countries.

Please note that Australia’s industrial development has only been going on for just over two years, while both the Island Nation and European countries have taken decades.

This is Australia’s inherent advantage, which can be described as being blessed in terms of mineral resources.

The Australian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded faintly while pondering the issue in his heart.

Before this negotiation, Arthur had specifically informed him that the Island Nation, from the country to the people, was a beast, so there was no possibility that Australia could become its ally.

Although Arthur did not explicitly refuse any trade that might occur between Australia and the Island Nation, it was clear from his attitude that it would not be easy for the Island Nation to obtain Australia’s mineral resources for free.

“Mr. Yukichiro Tamura, I won’t hide it from you, Australia does indeed have relatively rich mineral resources. However, there is a serious problem at the moment. Due to the population issue, the mining output in Australia is insufficient. I’m afraid there won’t be much left for your country after ensuring the supply for Australian industry,” said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs with a smile after some thought.

“If your country’s problem is due to a lack of manpower, we can send a batch of miners over to help Australia with production. Of course, the minerals produced will still belong to Australia, and your country just needs to pay the salaries of these miners,” Yukichiro Tamura proposed.

As tensions between the Island Nation and Russia escalate, the possibility of a war breaking out cannot be ruled out.

If a war breaks out, the supply and reserve of various resources will be a problem for the resource-poor Island Nation.

Having received large amounts of financial aid from the United States and the United Kingdom, the Island Nation is not currently short of funds, but rather is in need of a close and highly effective source of supply for resources.

Although the United States and the British Empire can provide corresponding supplies, both countries are charging relatively high prices, and the distances are also quite far, making transportation inconvenient.

Australia is the only country that is close to the Island Nation and has abundant mineral resources.

Moreover, Australia has a very good relationship with the United Kingdom, and the Island Nation has just signed a treaty with the United Kingdom not long ago.

In the view of the Island Nation, Australia would be an excellent source of mineral resources, which is why this diplomatic delegation came to Australia.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Yukichiro Tamura. We will solve Australia’s mining production by ourselves, and we don’t need your country’s help for now. We are also willing to export some mineral resources to your country, even at the expense of sacrificing some of our factories’ supply. But as you know, those capitalists will not give in without benefit, so the price of raw materials may rise. However, rest assured that the price will not be more than double the original price, and we will organize people to increase production as soon as possible,” the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said with a smile.