The Rise Of Australasia

Speaking of the Far East, Arthur was quite concerned about the Island Nation's expansion there. With the intention of causing the Islanders a bit of trouble, Arthur instructed the Military Factory to contact the Far East and sold a large batch of weapons and equipment at low prices.

After spending a little over a week in Australasia, Nicholas II and his family, having had some time to recover, requested to head to the United Kingdom.

Arthur, having achieved all he had in mind, naturally had no objections. To protect the family of Nicholas II, Arthur specially dispatched a naval escort, and using a private mega-yacht built by the Royal Shipyard, he personally conveyed Nicholas II and his family to London.

After resolving Nicholas II's affairs, Arthur suddenly felt much more relaxed.

Now, there were no more troubles concerning the establishment of the Empire – all that was needed was a bit of time to prepare.

However, before the establishment of the Empire, there was one thing that was very necessary to do, and that was to strengthen the military strength of a few countries within the sphere of influence of Australasia.

Australasia's massive army expansion would lead other countries to follow suit and engage in an arms race, but countries like the Philippines and Kalimantan would not.

They were all Indigenous Peoples, after all. If these countries could provoke panic among European Nations, Europe would not be the world's most developed and prosperous region.

Due to the proximity of the Philippines and Kalimantan to Australasia, Australasia's control over these two countries is far greater than that of the former United States and the Netherlands.

Both the Philippines and Kalimantan have populations exceeding 10 million, and their Military forces also number over 100,000.

But their military might is negligible in the face of Australasia, and with Arthur's various balancing measures, it would be difficult for them to rebel against Australasia's rule.

In the Philippines, even though it is a Republic, its politics are almost entirely controlled by Australasia.

For a Powerful Nation like Australasia, controlling a country the size of the Philippines is far too simple, accomplished just by Arthur lifting his finger.

The Philippines does have some Industry, but it is not large, and it is entirely under the control of Australasia.

Arthur had the Royal Financial Group secretly establish an enterprise in the Philippines, which has now expanded to become the largest private industrial enterprise there, the Desumir Company.

Desumir controls over seventy percent of the factories in the Philippines, including various mineral resources, some of the roads, and part of the infrastructure, among other things.

It could be said that Desumir Company's status in the Philippines is equivalent to that of a complete Royal Financial Group in Australasia.

However, the figurehead in charge of Desumir Company is a native Filipino, while all the shares are actually completely controlled by Australasia.

Such tactics are naturally used to deceive the Filipinos, making them project their grievances onto their own people, rather than rebelling against the rule of Australasia.

Some astute individuals might guess or understand the capital behind the Desumir Company, but they are powerless to change it.

With Desumir's vast capital, the Australasian side has already won over several Philippine Political Parties, becoming their benefactor.

The largest is the Philippine National Party. Inside this party are a large number of Australasia's Intelligence Personnel, plus many infiltrated and bought Filipinos.

Currently, the Philippine National Party has gained control of over fifty percent of the seats in the Philippine Parliament, and the party leader has successfully been elected as the new President of the Philippines.

With control over both the economy and politics, the Philippines simply cannot escape Australasia's control.

Moreover, most of the weapons and equipment of the Philippines come from Australasia, and their Military has been trained with the help of Australasia.

Currently, there are many pro-Australasian factions within the Philippine Government, including the National Party and several medium and small parties.

Thanks to these individuals' efforts, tens of millions of Filipinos have been subtly influenced to feel close to Australasia.

According to data from the Philippine Government, the population of the Philippines had already exceeded 12 million two years ago, and it is currently estimated to be around 13.5 million.

Arthur is very optimistic about this nation with its growing population. Even with just the 13.5 million people, in times of war, they could contribute tens to hundreds of millions of Soldiers to Australasia's forces, which is a considerable aid.

The Philippines now is quite different compared to the time of its early independence.

After completing his term, the first President Manuel was abandoned by Australasia.

Manuel was a clever man; he knew that with his high prestige in the Philippines, Australasia would not allow him to stay too long in the presidential position.

After his first four-year term was completed, Manuel announced that he would not run for a second term and gave up his Military forces.

The wisely retiring Manuel, of course, gained Arthur's favorable regard. As a reward for Manuel, with a nod from Arthur, the Philippine Government publicly awarded Manuel 1 million Australian dollars and several properties and luxury cars in the Capital City center.

Knowing that Manuel sought reputation as well, the Philippine Government publicly praised him as the Father of the Philippine Nation, the creator of the Republic, and wrote his contributions into the Constitution.

This meant a lot to Manuel; it was the greatest Compensation he could receive.

Besides, in private, Arthur also promised to allow Manuel's descendants to come to Australasia for studies and to permit his descendants to move to Australasia and become true Australasians.

After all, Manuel was already recognized as the creator of the Republic of the Philippines. If news of Manuel immigrating to Australasia got out, it would be a blow to his reputation.

This is why Arthur put all the rewards on Manuel's descendants. There is a huge disparity in status and welfare benefits between a Filipino and an Australasian, and Manuel naturally understood the advantages of becoming an Australasian.

Speaking of the current Philippine Government.

It had about 150,000 military personnel, most of whom were ordinary infantry.

Besides, the Philippines had a cavalry division, an artillery division, and a small coastal defense navy.

Such a military force was sufficient to defend the entire Philippines, but its effectiveness in future wars seemed rather limited.

After all, the Philippines could not be abandoned. Leaving enough troops to guard the Philippines, the number of troops available for deployment became very limited.

Therefore, it became necessary to strengthen the military power of the Philippines and to expand its armed forces.

A military force of 150,000 was clearly insufficient; it needed to be expanded to at least 300,000, and further to 500,000 during a war, to meet Arthur's initial expectations for the Philippine military.

What was necessary to expand the military were weapons and military expenditures, both of which could be provided by Australasia.

Of course, it wasn't for free. As for weapons, outdated equipment could be sold to the Philippines at low prices; as for military expenses, a substantial amount of funds could be provided to the Philippines through interest-free or low-interest loans.

These two methods were sufficient to expand the Philippine military to 300,000, ensuring a relatively ample number of troops.

Besides expanding the Philippine military, the United Sultanates of Kalimantan also needed significant expansion.

Compared to the ostensibly independent Philippines, the Sultanate of Kalimantan, which was completely controlled by Australasia, was easier to manage.

At Arthur's command, Muhammad, the Great Sultan of Kalimantan, had to make every effort for Arthur's orders.

Otherwise, the several smaller sultans around Muhammad would not mind overthrowing Muhammad's rule to become the new Great Sultan.

When Arthur arranged the situation in Kalimantan, he took into account whether Kalimantan might break away from Australasia's control in the future.

With the plotting of Arthur and a few trusted confidantes, Kalimantan Island was strategically and deliberately divided into several parts, forming a configuration like many stars surrounding the moon.

The advantage of doing so was, firstly, the Great Sultan could better control all the other sultans, fully realizing the Sultanate of Kalimantan's potential advantages.

Secondly, the other sultanates could also threaten the Great Sultan, guarding against the Great Sultan's potential rebellion.

As long as the Great Sultan of Kalimantan remained loyal to Arthur, with Arthur's support, the Great Sultan's control over all the sultanates would be very stable, and there would be no concerns about problems arising in Kalimantan.

But if the Great Sultan of Kalimantan rebelled against Arthur, the neighboring sultanates would become the best pawns for quelling the rebellion.

To be honest, Arthur wasn't clear about the exact population of the Great Sultanate of Kalimantan at the moment.

Based on the previous population figures of the entire Dutch East Indies, the total population should be between 30 to 40 million people.

But due to the previous war, the forced migration of indigenous peoples, and many Dutch and mixed-race Dutch fleeing to the Netherlands, the population within the Dutch East Indies experienced a sharp decline.

When moving all indigenous peoples to Kalimantan Island, many did not want to leave.

Especially the indigenous peoples from Java Island. Compared to Java, though larger, the soil fertility in Kalimantan was far less superior.

Moreover, having 30 million people crammed into the small island of Kalimantan wasn't much better than the previous crowdness of Java.

This also meant that supplies in Kalimantan would become even scarcer and the lives of these indigenous peoples would be far worse than before.

In order to forcibly move these indigenous peoples to Kalimantan, Australasia used a significant amount of military force.

At least a million indigenous peoples were permanently laid to rest in their homeland, greatly reducing their numbers at that time.

Considering the population growth of various sultanates, the current population of the Great Sultanate of Kalimantan should be around 40 to 50 million.

As for the exact number, no one knew. Arthur had no interest in conducting a detailed population census in Kalimantan, and the Great Sultanate of Kalimantan itself did not possess the capability for an in-depth census.

However, as long as the population exceeded 40 million, it meant that the Great Sultanate of Kalimantan had at least the capability to form a 2-million-strong army.

Even if they were to recruit soldiers regardless of the consequences and forcefully conscript able-bodied men, forming an army of four to five million wouldn't be an issue.

With so many able-bodied men and soldiers, even if it meant a war of attrition against the Island Nation, Arthur wouldn't flinch.