Ambassador Thomson said, "Your country is of great significance to regional stability, and France is also willing to support East Africa in playing a greater role across the Indian Ocean. I wonder what arrangements your country has made for its development strategy in the Indian Ocean."
Diplomacy was a process of probing step by step, so even though Thomson had decided to cultivate goodwill with East Africa, he would not readily make promises to it.
He used East Africa's Indian Ocean strategy as a wedge to pry open the next topic, making it easier to reach an agreement with East Africa.
Facing Ambassador Thomson's inquiry, Freer immediately understood. Feigning helplessness, he said, "Although East Africa is rooted in the Indian Ocean and is a major regional power, we have always lacked strategic strongholds in the Indian Ocean. This has left us in a very passive position there."
"For example, the Suez Canal, the vital route linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, is controlled by the British. The British also wield profound influence over both shores of the Strait of Mandeb, which ranks only behind the Suez Canal."
"Our East African East Coast also faces threats to a certain extent. Socotra Island, Seychelles, Maldives, Chagos Islands, and so on have left us in a very passive situation."
Socotra Island was an island in the Gulf of Aden. In Freer's previous life, it had belonged to Yemen. It sat precisely at the junction of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, while also serving as a bridgehead for controlling the Red Sea shipping lanes. Its strategic position was exceptionally prominent.
Of course, its importance clearly could not compare with that of the Suez Canal or the Strait of Mandeb. Controlling the Suez Canal and the Strait of Mandeb was