Among the world's naval powers, the British Royal Navy stood alone at the very top. The United States, German, and French navies formed the second tier, while Japan and East Africa occupied the third. The remaining navies could be further divided—for instance, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Spain belonged to the fourth tier...
But setting aside the British Royal Navy, that transcendent existence, any nation in the second tier already held an overwhelming advantage over the rest of the world, with France serving as the gatekeeper of that tier.
Even that gatekeeper was nearly twice as powerful as the East African or Imperial Japanese Navy of the third tier. The gap between the world's navies was simply too vast at present.
Svit said, "The French Navy is at the bottom of the second tier among the world's navies. At the very least, our East African Navy must squeeze into the second tier. Moreover, the French Navy has already shown a lack of staying power in its competition with nations like Germany and the United States, making it our best reference point."
Judging by the current state of economic and industrial development across the world, France had in fact already fallen behind. Its ability and energy to keep up in the arms race were both stretched thin.
Britain, the United States, and Germany were different. In fact, the East African Navy was developing at breakneck speed, and so were the British, American, and German navies. Those three nations had yet to show any signs of decline in the arms race.
The British Royal Navy simply had more to consider. Its opponent had never been limited to a single nation, but was the entire world. That was why Britain faced such immense pressure. If it lost its naval advantage, British hegemony