France and the United Kingdom were beset by one problem after another, making mid-1931 far from peaceful.
Of course, with the respective supporters behind Paraguay and Bolivia caught up in turmoil, the war in South America had once again become a fair one-on-one contest between Paraguay and Bolivia.
In terms of territory and population, Bolivia held an enormous advantage. However, Bolivia had focused its early weapons purchases on tanks and aircraft, and neither weapon was able to play much of a role in the North Chaco region.
Paraguay, on the other hand, had purchased large quantities of small arms, allowing it to maintain a firepower advantage in the North Chaco region.
Machine guns in particular were like grim reapers in the North Chaco region. A few machine guns could hold an entire position and keep enemy attacks stalled beyond the battle line.
At this point, Australasia—the only side left watching the show—became extremely important. Australasia's attitude would not only determine how quickly Britain and France resolved their domestic problems, but also which side would gain the upper hand in the war in South America.
Having already reached an agreement with the British people, Arthur's goal remained to help Paraguay win the war and secure a share of the benefits for Australasia.
As for which of Britain and France could resolve its problems first, that was not something Arthur needed to consider.
In truth, the problems Britain and France were facing at present were certainly troublesome, but they were by no means impossible to solve.
The only questions were how much time Britain and France would have to spend, and how great an impact the problems would have on their colonial rule and spheres of influence.
For Arthur, this might actually be good news. Only after trouble broke out in India