The fundamental purpose of East Africa's military expansion was to respond to the great upheavals sweeping the world. Now, it stood at a critical juncture in those upheavals, which was the fundamental reason the East African government intended to expand its military to more than a million men.
Pripriate said, "Whether we ultimately join the war or not, we must make preparations in the military sphere in advance, so that we can respond to any risks that arise."
"Although the European nations are fighting fiercely, this also means that they have amassed enormous military strength. Tempered by the crucible of the battlefield, once that force is deployed beyond Europe after the war ends, no power will be able to compete with it in the short term."
"Therefore, the navy is the key issue. Only by guarding our maritime frontiers well can our forces retain the strategic initiative—able to advance to attack and retreat to defend. On one hand, we must expand the navy; on the other, we must be ready at all times to shift production capacity toward a wartime economy."
"The same applies to the army. We must strengthen the management of the reserve and logistics systems, ensuring that once war breaks out, the Empire can raise an immense army whose scale is in no way inferior to that of any European nation."
If East Africa were ultimately drawn into the war, there would be only one possibility: joining the Central Powers camp. This was the consensus of the East African government, and also the fundamental reason Britain and France were throwing out every possible bargaining chip to win East Africa over.
East Africa could not join the Entente Powers camp. This was determined by the combined factors of East Africa's ethnicity, culture, interests, and more.
However, not joining