LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 789: 589: Visitor from Turkey_1
Chapter 789: Chapter 589: Visitor from Turkey_1
As time entered the second month of 1924, Australasia also welcomed an unexpected guest from Turkey, the Diplomatic Visiting Team.
After becoming the first President of the Republic of Turkey, Kemal decided to carry out a comprehensive reform of the current Republic, eliminating all influence of the old Ottoman Empire and creating a brand new country for the Turkish people.
After much deliberation, Kemal concluded that if Turkey wanted to develop, it must learn from Europe’s more advanced systems and technologies, achieving full Europeanization.
This also meant that the current Republic of Turkey had to find a European power to learn from, preferably one that could provide substantial assistance to aid Turkey’s development.
The famous European powers at present are Britain and France, and perhaps Italy could be included as well.
But the Republic of Turkey had already alienated Britain and France during the previous war, and now catching up with them to learn their systems would be, to put it nicely, like a lamb entering the tiger’s den, or more bluntly, a path to certain death.
Although Italy is also a European power, its lack of prestige compared with other powers made it an unworthy target to emulate in Kemal’s eyes.
Hence, the options for Turkey to learn from were narrowed down to two: the United States in the Americas and Australasia in Australia.
Although not knowing why Kemal had chosen Australasia as a target, Arthur was still welcoming of Turkey’s diplomatic visit.
The one to receive the Turkish Diplomatic Visiting Team was Minister Daize Taylor, and Arthur also arranged a meeting time with the visiting group, set for three days later, on February 4th.
During these three days, Minister Daize Taylor also successfully discerned the real purpose of the Turkish visiting group, which was to seek help from Australasia as well as to establish some cooperation to assist Turkey’s better development.
On February 4th, 1924, inside the Sydney Palace Conference Room.
Inside the meeting room, Arthur successfully met the man touted as Kemal’s greatest aid, the current Vice President of the Republic of Turkey, Ali Yustafa Yusufu.
The personal leadership of Turkish Vice President on the visit was sufficient to prove the importance Turkey placed on this diplomatic visit and also demonstrated Kemal’s need and urgency for modernization reforms in Turkey.
After the members of both parties exchanged greetings, Arthur looked at Ali Yustafa Yusufu with a smile and asked, “I wish to congratulate the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit to Australasia?”
Ali Yustafa Yusufu smiled in response and said, “Respected King of Australasia, Your Majesty, allow me to express my profound admiration.
You know, Turkey was once a great country like Australasia. But the corrupt rule of the Ottoman Empire has caused this country to suffer a decline and ruin for a hundred years.
Now that Turkey has established a new country, it is time to cut ties with the past Ottomans and transform Turkey into a brand new, great modernized nation.
As one of the most powerful countries in the world today, we unanimously believe that Australasia is the best exemplar to learn from, and we wish to gain the support of Australasia in helping Turkey achieve modernization and become a member of the great European family.”
Arthur was noncommittal about the implied praise in Ali’s words, he also understood that Turkey’s current ambitions were substantial, and Kemal’s goals were certainly not just to remove the influence of the Ottoman Empire.
If we consider the area and population of Turkey, a successfully reformed Republic of Turkey has the potential to become a member amongst the powers.
After all, the former Ottoman Empire was also among the powers, except that the corrupt rule over a hundred years had turned this once expansive superpower across Europe, Asia, and Africa into what the Europeans mockingly called the ‘Sick Man of Asia (Sick Man of Europe)’.”
“However, Australasia is not the strongest one, and there are many European powers closer to Turkey. Vice President Ali, may I ask why you chose Australasia?” Arthur did not directly respond to the Turkish request but deftly shifted the topic with a smile.
“As you know, Your Majesty, we had conflicts with Britain and France in the past war, which hindered our steps to learn from Europe. Although the United States and your country are options, the United States clearly doesn’t comport itself as a good country, which is why we have chosen your country,” replied Ali Yusutafa Yusufu without the slightest surprise to Arthur’s question.
“Perhaps you are not aware, but just a few days ago, we reached an agreement with Finland and lent them a substantial amount of funds. I am quite willing to cooperate with your country, but as you know, the funds of Australasia are limited, and we cannot assist you further while helping Finland,” explained Arthur, even though he understood why the Turkish had chosen Australasia, it did not mean that he would immediately agree to the requests of the Turkish people.
At the end of the day, the fundamental relationship between countries is that of interests, and Arthur could not possibly forsake the interests of Australasia to help Turkey develop.
Simply put, if the Turkish people want to garner the support of Australasia, they would have to pay a price.
This applies equally to other countries; no powerful nation will help another for nothing, unless it serves their own strategic purpose.
For instance, Britain previously helped European nations to implement its own continental balance policy, finding a rival for the then-European hegemony.
Besides that, the British in the Pacific Ocean successively supported Island Nation and Australasia, similarly for their strategic aims.
Even Australasia’s external support for Russia Nation, Finland, and the Philippines, isn’t it for its own purposes as well?
In this era where the strong prey on the weak, strong countries exploiting smaller ones has become the norm. A country must give up something to gain the support of others.
Ali Yustafa Yusufu naturally understood this point, but he was also clear about the importance of securing benefits for Turkey.
After pondering for a moment, Ali Yustafa Yusufu finally said, “Respected Majesty the King of Australasia, we come with sincerity. If your country is willing to give us support, we can sign a peace trade order lasting 20 years with your country.
In addition, we are willing to become an ally and friend of Australasia, to better learn the advanced system and technology of Australasia, and to establish close ties with Australasia.
We can sign a treaty, and Turkey can also help your country better rule the Persian Gulf Territory.”
Arthur smiled and shook his head, indicating his refusal to the conditions proposed by Ali Yustafa Yusufu.
Such terms required almost no effort on the part of Turkey, yet they would gain significant support from Australasia; wasn’t this tantamount to getting something for nothing?
Whether the so-called closer cooperation was genuine or not is one thing, but even if Turkey and Australasia signed a treaty, how could powerful countries be bound by a mere piece of paper?
As is well known, the signing of treaties is often just to tear them up later; the European nations have done this far too many times to count, and one could list examples all day without end.
If Arthur were fooled by the verbal promises of the Turkish, it would prove those more than 20 years of his rule were in vain, without any growth in political and foreign affairs experience.
As for the Turks’ claim of helping Australasia to better control the Persian Gulf Territory, that was completely unnecessary and not needed by Australasia at all.
Firstly, the population of indigenous people in Australasia’s Persian Gulf Territory is quite small, making it relatively simple to control.
In addition, apart from the British colonies surrounding it, there are just the indigenous people. With a good relationship with the British, Australasia naturally wouldn’t worry about threats from Britain.
As for those Indigenous Peoples, it was already kind of them for Australasia not to bother them, after all, the firepower of the two divisions stationed in the Persian Gulf Territory was not for show; their might was enough to make the indigenous people despair.
“Vice President Ali, if your country truly has sincerity, I hope you can present some attractive conditions,” Arthur said with a smile, interrupting Ali Yustafa Yusufu just as he was about to speak, and spoke straightforwardly.
Without attracting Australasia’s interest, it was nearly impossible for the Turkish to gain Australasia’s help.
Vice President Ali seemed to understand this as well, and after thinking for a while, he finally said, “Your Majesty, if your country is willing to express support for Turkey, we can offer a portion of our domestic mining rights and we can mortgage some gold mines.
After the reform, we also have a railway construction plan, which could be entrusted to your country, allowing a 30-year railway toll right.
Your Majesty, we come with sincerity, and ask that you give Turkey a chance; all the Turkish are very grateful for your Majesty’s help.”
After hearing that the Turkish started offering real conditions, Arthur nodded, setting a tone, “If that’s the case, I believe there is potential for cooperation between us. However, the government will handle the specifics; you can discuss with Minister Daize Taylor and Prime Minister Roger, I’m sure they won’t refuse another friend.”
Confirming that Turkey was indeed making a sacrifice, Arthur shifted the focus of the negotiations to the government.
Arthur could not personally engage in the negotiations, it was an affair of bargaining for interests best left to the government; after all, it’s the officers who could forgo face-saving.
All Arthur needed to do was set a tone, such as the rough demands of Australasia in these negotiations, and the extent of support for Turkey, etc.