A setback may turn out to be a blessing—politics could be this comical at times. The British Government had originally harbored doubts about supporting the Japanese, worried they were mud that could not be plastered onto a wall, incapable of recouping the cost of the investment.
But once the Holy Roman Empire backed the Spaniards, the British Government had no choice. If it still failed to act, it would soon have no foothold left in the South Seas.
Britain did not have much at stake in the South Seas, and being squeezed out seemed as though it would not cost much. Yet matters could not be judged merely by appearances.
One only had to open a map to see that the South Seas lay directly between the Far East and India. Once it was pushed out, Britain's hegemonic position in the Far East would be shaken as well.
Of course, they had another option—Australia. The problem was that it required taking a huge detour!
Britain could not withstand any more upheaval. The Royal Navy was already under enough pressure from being unable to pass through the Suez Canal; if it had to take another detour, life would become impossible.
Against this backdrop, Britain could only bring in outside forces to balance the various powers in the South Seas and ease its own pressure.
At the very moment the Spaniards arrived at New Frankfurt Port, Hirobumi Ito, representing the Japanese Government, signed the Anglo-Japanese South Seas Secret Pact with British Foreign Secretary George in London.
The treaty stipulated:
1. Both contracting states mutually recognized each other's right to protect their own interests in the South Seas. Should Japan's "special interests" in the South Seas be threatened by another country, both states had the right to intervene.
2. Should one contracting