At nine o'clock that evening, Hong Kong time, Li Guangyu received a call from Zhang Ziyu. He gave him a detailed report on the situation in East Africa and asked Li Guangyu for instructions on the garrison issue.
There is no problem with the investment, but the garrison aspect is very important. Li Guangyu did not immediately reply to Zhang Ziyu. He needs to discuss it with the senior management of the consortium.
The impact of garrisoning troops is very significant. Generally, troops are garrisoned within member states of the organization, or large countries garrison troops in some small countries.
Bentley Island itself is just a British overseas territory, and its armed forces are regarded more as the private army of the Lee Consortium by all parties. Going to Kenya to build a military base for the Bentley Island army will change the way many countries and forces view the Lee Consortium.
In terms of opinion, whether this is good or bad, it is still difficult to judge.
The purpose of the British actively urging the Bentley Island troops to go out is worthy of consideration. Is it worthwhile for the Lee Consortium to station troops in the past?
At 9:30 a.m. the next day in Hong Kong time, that is, April 29, Li Guangyu held a high-level meeting of the consortium in the fifth conference room on the second floor of Wheelock Building to discuss matters in East Africa, focusing on whether to station troops
Kenya.
Du Yonghong, the general manager of the security company, immediately said after Li Guangyu finished speaking: "Li Sheng, I personally suggest that a mechanized battalion be stationed at the border of Kenya and Somalia, and 12 Mirage 2000c and an electronic reconnaissance aircraft be dispatched. This can
It protects the security of our industry in East Africa very well.
And after our troops pass there, they will be able to provide some help and confidence to southwestern Somalia to a certain extent."
As the representative of the Li Group's military in Hong Kong, Du Yonghong naturally wants the Bentley Island troops to go out and have the troops trapped on several small islands. This is definitely not what they want. Given such an opportunity this time, he is absolutely unwilling
Missed it, as long as they can get out of Bentley Island this time, they will be able to expand their army again.
As for whether this would affect the development of the Lee Consortium, this was not something he had to consider. They more wanted Bentley Island's military strength to be as strong as possible.
In the past, Bentley Island was only that big, and its armed forces were sufficient to meet its needs. Once Li Guangyu agreed to station troops in Kenya, the opportunity for military expansion would come.
As for the possibility of military conflicts in the future, Du Yonghong is not worried about this. If the establishment of an armed force is just to become a veteran soldier and is afraid of going to the battlefield, then what is the point of establishing the Bentley Island armed forces? After these people join, they should be able to imagine that one day they will go to the battlefield.
.
Wang Hui from the Political Research Office also supports the garrison in Kenya. The situation in East Africa is very responsible. The tribes may not necessarily listen to the government, and the internal situation there is relatively chaotic. With Bentley Island military armed forces stationed in Kenya, and the Lee Consortium in East Africa
Your investment can be safer and you don’t have to worry about being robbed suddenly.
The tribes in East Africa are also bullies. They know what they can and cannot rob, so as to avoid causing disaster to their own tribes.
Chen Dong spoke up and said: "Everyone is well aware of the current situation in East Africa. Somalia is divided internally. Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and even Uganda are also uneasy. The reason is lagging economic development and the relative independence of ethnic tribes.
Now that we have invested heavily in East Africa, in order to ensure our profits in East Africa, we need a certain amount of force to protect the security of our assets.
In the past, this was not to compete with the United States, France, etc., but to deter the tribes within several countries. In this regard, Bentley Island also needs to have a clear understanding and not to conflict with NATO military bases in East Africa and French military bases."
The United States and France now have military bases in Djibouti, the British Navy will return to Kenya after this time, Italy is also planning to enter Somalia, and Germany is also actively operating, preparing to find a fulcrum in Africa.
In the future, this area will definitely become a battlefield for confrontation between major powers. Military bases of all parties are scattered all over Africa. The forces represented by these garrison troops will also actively draw the host countries into their lineup. This will make African countries because of the interests of the forces behind them.
It also became full of contradictions.
It's a little better at the moment. The competition between Western Europe and the United States is mainly economic and will not turn into a military conflict. If there are big countries getting involved in the future, it might be possible, especially the biggest successor left after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
We will be very tough on NATO in the future, and conflicts will inevitably continue.
Moreover, due to interests, several big countries also hope that some areas will maintain a certain degree of conflict, so that their value as a big country can be demonstrated and their domestic arms can be sold smoothly.
You must know that selling weapons is not the focus. The maintenance costs in the later period will only flow gradually. Especially when there is a local conflict, the demand for military supplies will be very large.
Currently, a firearms production factory is under construction on Hengyu Island. There are also supporting bullet production workshops and grenade production workshops. In this regard, Bentley Island needs to be self-sufficient. It is a waste of resources to rely on buying everything. As for this technology
The problem is, there is no Kali Group in Western Europe, and their governments do not value this profit.
Regarding this aspect, as long as the Li Consortium has the ability, whether it is building missiles or fighter planes, let's see if the Li Consortium is willing to invest all its money in this industry with few prospects.
Without the support of a huge country, the Lee Consortium's research and development has no benefit except a waste of money. Even if the demand for Bentley Island is great, the research and development expenses in this area will be enough to purchase Bentley Island's military expenditure for many years.
Not everyone agrees with the Bentley Island military garrison in Kenya. Peng Xiaoli, director of the Secrecy Department, said: "Li Sheng, if we only consider the security of our industry in East Africa, we can definitely arrange security there. If it is a military garrison, the nature will change.
I am afraid that the North and the United States will have some ideas, especially the North, which will not be conducive to the development of our industry in the North."
However, Peng Xiaoli's opinion was quickly refuted. Fujiwara Keiin, director of the Internal Trade Coordination Office, said: "Ms. Peng is overly worried in this regard. We all need to understand that since we took over Bentley Island, the estrangement in this area has ceased.
already exists.
Our cooperation with the North is nothing more than mutual benefit. The two sides are based on mutual needs. They need foreign investment, and we need that huge market.
Whether we station troops in Kenya or not is not the key to the cooperation between the two sides. When the other side feels that we are doing more harm than good to them, they will naturally kick us out."
Fujiwara Keiyin still had something to say. In his opinion, the north could never become the foundation of the Lee Consortium, because the Lee Consortium could not take the initiative there and could only rely on the other party's changes.
But it is different in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, the Commonwealth and even Africa. Many ruling parties or opposition parties in these areas have close relations with the Lee Foundation. Only in these places does the Lee Foundation have its own initiative and protect its own assets.
threatened.
In Fujiwara Keiin's view, the Lee Group must have its own strong weapons so that it can protect its assets.
The top ten American consortiums are protected by the United States, the six major Japanese consortiums are also protected by Japan, the Korean consortiums are also protected by South Korea, and the Singaporean consortiums are also protected by Singapore. This is not only political protection, but also military protection.
The Li Group is extremely embarrassed. Due to the particularity of its location, it is difficult for the Li Group to obtain protection in this regard when competing outside. Over the years, the Li Group has always relied on itself when facing competition.
The U.S. government can increase tariffs on the products of the Lee Foundation, and the Japanese government can impose restrictions on some industries of the Lee Foundation. The Lee Foundation cannot come up with the same counterattack, so it can only bear it alone and rack its brains to avoid all aspects of tariffs.
limit.
If it weren't for some reasons, Fujiwara Keiyin would have encouraged Li Guangyu to go to East Africa to build a territory. Bentley Island is too small to support the development of the Li Group.