"Prime Minister, the construction of the Navy's aircraft carriers and battleships, as well as large numbers of cruisers and destroyers, must be accelerated. However, that will require vast quantities of resources," General Yoshida Zengo said.
Island Nation had always been a country desperately short of resources. Previously, Island Nation's Army and Navy had been able to expand their military strength so frantically only because they had received strong support from the United States. The United States had provided Island Nation with huge quantities of every kind of war material. But now, the United States had personally entered the war—and suffered a crushing defeat. This forced the United States to expand its own military-industrial capacity as well, so that it could possess greater strength.
Under such circumstances, there was no need to think twice to know that the United States would certainly no longer provide Island Nation with so many resources as it had before. Therefore, if Island Nation wished to massively expand its military strength, resources would become a major bottleneck.
Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai could not help frowning. The resource issue was indeed a major problem constraining Island Nation's development. It was precisely because of this that they had been coerced by the Americans into going to war against Germany.
"How many resources can we plunder from the Dutch East Indies?" Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai asked.
"Prime Minister, the Dutch have not fully developed Indonesia. They have done little more than plunder its wealth. Therefore, if we want to develop the resources there, we will need time. Moreover, the resources of Indonesia alone are insufficient to support our military expansion," General Shunroku Hata said as well.
There was no doubt that Indonesia was rich in resources. But large-scale development would take time. And what Island Nation lacked most right