The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 758 - 567: Military Aid_2

At the end of February, the Philippines could no longer bear it and once again requested support from Australasia.

Of course, what they could not bear was not the military, but the lack of weapons and ammunition.

The Philippines did not have much of a military industrial sector and naturally could not manufacture bullets for Australasian weapons.

The only way they could use these weapons was to purchase a large amount of weapons and ammunition from Australasia.

Although Australasia’s consecutive two batches of aid to the Philippines included a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition, the consumption in war was incalculable, especially for such poorly trained combat forces as the Philippines.

This time, Arthur did not provide aid for free but requested the Philippines to offer an equivalent value of resources or directly provide labor.

Australasia had started to build railways, and in the future, there would be various large projects; the labor provided by the Philippines could better supplement the gaps in Australasia’s labor force.

At the same time, these Filipino workers would not affect Australasia. Compared to indigenous people, Filipinos would be sent back after completing their tasks, essentially acting as temporary laborers.

The prolonged unfavorable situation of the war had made the Americans finally take it seriously, and the upcoming change in government had left President Wilson struggling.

To save face, President Wilson had signed a regulation on reinforcing the troops, and there would be even bigger battles to come in the Philippines.

Arthur, of course, would not stand idly by while the Philippines was defeated by the Americans, and he remained quite generous when providing weapons and equipment.

The Philippine’s side, Manuel, agreed to provide 100,000 manpower, plus the priority mining rights for domestic mineral resources, in exchange for as many as 200,000 rifles, 50 million bullets, 200 various caliber firearms, 150 heavy machine guns, 100,000 shells, 3 million machine gun bullets, and numerous other weapons and equipment.

In the siege warfare, the hand grenades, which performed well, were also purchased by the Philippines in millions. These weapons and equipment were sufficient for the Philippines to double the size of its army.

No matter whether the Americans were serious or not, with these weapons and equipment, the Filipino army would surely give the Americans a tough time.

Ideally, the Philippine War for Independence could escalate in scale and intensity, thus diverting even more American attention.

If the Americans got bogged down in the Philippines quagmire, it would be good news for both the United Kingdom and Australasia.

Due to the US government’s change in office, the Philippine War for Independence would inevitably become an issue for presidential candidates.

Those who promise to end the Philippine War for Independence as soon as possible might get the support of the American public.

But the question was, could the Philippine War for Independence be resolved that easily? Currently, the signs indicated that other Powers were behind the Philippines, most likely either the United Kingdom or Australasia.

In such a situation, the United States would need the support of other Powers to swiftly resolve the Philippine conflict.

However, the problem was that the United States’ reputation was not so good at the moment, and even its ally, Island Nation, might not firmly support it.

Besides, the international status of the United States and the Island Nation would definitely not be on par with the United Kingdom and Australasia.

After all, the United Kingdom and Australasia had the support of the entire World Alliance, uniting dozens of small countries, something the United States, which fell outside of the World Alliance, could not achieve.

Having thought about this, President Wilson became even more resentful of the incompetence in Congress.

If it were not for Congress’s strong opposition, the United States would have established an international alliance before the United Kingdom. How could it then be left out of the world’s largest alliance?

It should be noted that an organization like the World Alliance could greatly boost a country’s international status and influence.

Even in the long run, the UK’s actions could become the actions of the entire World Alliance at any time, inherently possessing the advantage of moral high ground.

The competition between the United States and the United Kingdom naturally evolved into a competition between the United States and the world. Coupled with America’s bad reputation, it is easy to imagine its consequences.

However, would American citizens support a presidential candidate who did not promise to end the Philippine War as soon as possible? It’s doubtful.

The ongoing Philippine War of Independence has become a sore point for Americans, an issue that could explode if mishandled and ignite discontent in their hearts.

How to properly handle the Philippine War issue, so as to end the war quickly without causing any loss to the United States, is something President Wilson and the other presidential candidates should think about.

Otherwise, even if they are successfully elected president, they will still be plagued by the Philippine issue. It is better to be prepared in advance, ready to implement their own solutions upon taking office.

Compared to the headache of the American government, Arthur was much more relaxed.

First, there was the advantage of distance, and secondly, Australasia had the support of the United Kingdom. Moreover, the economic condition of the United States was not necessarily good, as the compensation for the massive flu outbreak had already put the American government’s finances in a tight spot.

Besides, whether the US government is united is also an issue. Even if the American president wants to continue the war, they have to see if Congress agrees or not.

To put it bluntly, if Arthur really wanted to trap the United States in the quagmire of the Philippine War, it would be difficult for them to struggle out.

Unless the United States gave up the Philippines for nothing, but whether the American people would agree to that is also a question worth considering.

This issue has far-reaching implications, and how to choose and take corresponding actions for President Wilson and the next US president requires deep thought and contemplation.

Having arranged for weapons and equipment to be sent to the Philippines, Arthur felt relieved and started an inspection tour of the military factory’s current situation.

Speaking of which, Australasia’s military industry is a pillar industry, and its current scale ranks among the top internationally. Stay tuned for updates on empire

Because Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had their military development severely restricted, Australasia directly surpassed two ranks in terms of weapons and equipment exports, coming in third in the world, just after the United Kingdom and the United States.

Yes, Australasia’s arms trade had already reached the level of third in the world. It was not surprising that the British Empire enjoyed the top spot, as the United Kingdom had many subordinates in Europe, who would purchase British arms.

The United States ranked second because their trade agreement with the Island Nation required the latter to import large quantities of American weaponry every year.

If not for the agreement’s existence, the US arms trade market would have been inferior to Australasia’s.

After all, Australasia’s arms trade underwent a tremendous transformation during World War I and was one of the Allies’ weapon suppliers, with the highest export quantity among the Allies.

Previously selling to Russia, and now to Russia and the Philippines, many Asian countries have also ordered equipment from Australasia.

The income from these arms trades, taken together, not only easily maintained the Royal Military Factory but also kept its scale at quite an exaggerating number.

The profit from arms sales was not inferior to other industries and, in some aspects, far exceeded agriculture and animal husbandry.

The profit from a single arms trade would require selling millions of tons of grain to earn.

Arthur had no intention of dismantling the arms industry for the time being, as the income from the Russian Civil War alone was enough to sustain it.

This is also why European countries were unwilling to end Russia’s Civil War, as the income from the war alone was enough to change their positions.

Though a strict embargo was initially imposed on Soviet Russia, restricting any materials from being imported into the country.

However, was this restriction effective? If it was, Soviet Russia would not have persisted until now.