Empire Conquest

Chapter 651 - 3 Confluence of Events_2

However, the problem lies right here.

From beginning to end, the Liangxia Empire never provided direct assistance to Iraq, nor did they supply advanced weapons through a third party.

The so-called "indirect assistance" mainly consisted of intelligence, financial support, and personnel training.

The reasons for this must be traced back to the Boi War that occurred before the Iran-Iraq War.

After that war ended, the strategic expansion of the Liangxia Empire came to an abrupt halt, entering a phase of strategic contraction, and was forced to implement a containment strategy in the Boss Bay region.

Simply put, this meant strengthening the military presence in relatively wealthy oil-producing countries that did not border Boi Country, to avoid getting mired in war again, with the aim of maintaining core interests in the Boss Bay area with minimal investment, namely oil and the oil Gold Yuan.

This strategy was vividly dubbed the "Moat Project."

The entities protected were the oil-producing Gulf countries like Kuwait, and Iraq was seen as the "moat."

It was because of this strategy that during the Iran-Iraq War, the Liangxia Empire never provided any kind of military support to Iraq.

Even the third parties acting as intermediaries, like the Gaoju Kingdom, sold Iraq some second-hand equipment that was about to be phased out.

As such, almost all Iraqis believe it was the two-faced trickery of the Liangxia Empire that cost them the victory in the Iran-Iraq War.

The crux of the issue remained oil, or rather, interests.

During the Iran-Iraq War, in order to keep international oil prices stable, several Boss Bay oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia all increased their oil production.

This move also aimed to strike at Boi Country, which was more dependent on oil revenue.

However, after the Iran-Iraq War ended, and following the collective blockade of Boi Country led by the Liangxia Empire’s Eastern Group, the Boss Bay oil-producing nations did not reduce their output to help Iraq rebuild after the war; instead, they further increased their oil production.

As a result, oil prices plunged to rock bottom.

Iraq’s national economy deteriorated sharply over the past two years, and the military dictator’s prestige built during the war was obliterated by famine and unemployment.

Kuwait’s behavior was the most outstanding in this respect.

Not because of anything else, but because about two-thirds of Kuwait’s oil fields were controlled by the Liangxia Empire’s oil companies, and oil production was determined by the Liangxia Empire.

Economically speaking, the Iraqi military dictator’s move to target Kuwait at that time was nothing more than an attempt to push up oil prices through initiating a war.

Of course, support from the two superpowers played a decisive role.

From another perspective, Iraq was actually the missing link in the east-west arc corridor from East Continent Heart Sea to Mua Sea, dominated by the Tiaoman Empire.

During the Iran-Iraq War, the Tiaoman Empire unwaveringly supported Iraq.

Though during the Boi War, the Tiaoman Empire didn’t support Boi Country, they later successfully drew Boi Country to their side through the Newland Republic.

Fundamentally, the essence of the Iran-Iraq War was the first strategic collaboration between the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic in order to shatter Liangxia Empire’s hegemonic status in Boss Bay. The timing was impeccably precise, taking advantage of the Liangxia Empire’s strategic contraction phase to break open the situation.

Moreover, the Syria to the east of Iraq, after achieving independence, also historically tended to favor the West Continent Group led by the Tiaoman Empire.

As for the Ter Republic, which had fallen from grace, it had lost its ambition and declared permanent neutrality more than ten years earlier.

Clearly, if the West Continent Group could take over Iraq, they could bypass the Xifan Canal controlled by the Liangxia Empire and march into Boss Bay over land.

Even if they couldn’t control Boss Bay’s oil fields, they could disrupt the Liangxia Empire’s strategic deployment.

Crucially, via this arc corridor, the West Continent Group could extend its reach to the Subcontinent with over a billion people, fundamentally shaking the hegemonic status of the Liangxia Empire in the Fan Flame Ocean.

Without a doubt, the Subcontinent would become the grave where the Liangxia Empire is buried!

With such tremendous benefits, how could the Tiaoman Empire merely stand by and watch?

Naturally, the Newland Republic would not be an exception.

To this day, the Howay Islands still remain isolated overseas.

Even though the Newland Authority has recognized that the sovereignty issue in the Alas region should be set aside and dealt with in a cold manner, they have never made concessions regarding the sovereignty over the Howay Islands, solidifying their status as a provincial administrative region through legislation instead.

The problem is that as long as the Liangxia Navy remains dominant in the East Ocean, the Newland Army cannot possibly return to the Howay Islands.

For the Newland Republic, the Howay Islands are not merely a territory, but also the Footstone to advance into the East Ocean and recover their status as a world-class superpower.

Of course, this could also be described as an indispensable condition.

In a word, without the Howay Islands, the Newland Navy can only patrol around its doorstep, and dreams of returning to Aus and the new Monroe Doctrine are nothing but mirages.

The problem lies right here.

Taking on the Liangxia Navy head-on, the Newland Navy doesn’t stand a chance.

Actually, even if the navies of all the other countries combined, they still wouldn’t match the Liangxia Navy.

Six 100,000-ton super carriers and nine 60,000-ton large carriers are not something just anyone can afford to play with!

If a large-scale regional war were to break out in Boss Bay, the Liangxia Navy would undoubtedly have to send reinforcements to the area, meaning the forces stationed in the East Ocean to keep watch over the Newland Navy would be much weaker than usual.