Of course, so-called international morality means nothing to all countries. Since the United States and Spain have already declared war on each other, it's not just about the Philippines; even if they were to advance to Spanish soil, there would be no issue.

Now, however, with East Africa and France backing Spain, Spain truly seized this opportunity to negotiate with the United States over the Philippines issue, though naturally, the United States couldn't possibly return the Philippines.

Ultimately, the compromise reached between both parties was that the United States would purchase the Philippines for the same amount as in history, still twenty million US Dollars. However, compared to history, the United States has suffered a heavy loss; on one hand, the losses from this war are greater, and on the other hand, Mindanao Island in the Philippines has already been sold to East Africa. Thus, the United States pays the same price but can only obtain two-thirds of the Philippines.

Spain felt even more aggrieved; knowing this beforehand, it would have been better to sell the entire Philippines to Germany before the war. Twenty million US Dollars is not a low price, but Germany would have surely offered more, and most importantly, their navy wouldn't have faced complete annihilation.

Don't underestimate the previous naval strength of the Philippines; now, the Spanish navy equals a sudden break. Even if the former naval forces of the Philippines were now under Spain's command, they could at least maintain some dignity in total tonnage.

...

First Town.

"Regarding the outcome of the Spanish-American War, the two countries formally signed an agreement on the 19th of this month, whereby the United States acquired colonies such as Cuba and the Philippines. As we know, the United Kingdom and Germany also benefited from this war, with some islands in Eastern Philippines falling into German hands."

In fact, this wasn't Germany's first time doing such a thing. For example, Nauru Island in the Pacific Ocean, which Ernst had coveted, was taken by Germany from Spain back in 1888.

Ernst actually regretted not seizing more islands in the Pacific earlier on if he had known that buying land from Spain would be so easy.

However, this served as a reminder for Ernst, the Spanish avenue might be closed, but in the South Sea there remained the Netherlands, holding considerable territories, especially Kalimantan Island. Taking advantage of this post-war period between the United States and Spain, a deal might be achievable.

The Spanish-American War's relevance to East Africa's purchase of territories from the Netherlands was significant indeed. The war once again showcased the world's jungle law to tiny nations everywhere. If a power like Spain got crushed by a stronger nation, even more so might a "small" country like the Netherlands.

Of course, though the Netherlands is small, it is by no means a weak nation. In many aspects, it is far superior to half-dead Portugal; otherwise, it wouldn't hold such a large expanse of the Dutch East Indies.

And why does Ernst particularly focus on the land controlled by the Netherlands on Kalimantan Island? Naturally, it's for the island's resources.

East Africa's Lan Fang Overseas Province actually belongs to a resource-scarce zone, while northern areas like Sarawak, Brunei, and British-controlled northern Borneo have rich oil and gas resources, but East Africa couldn't take advantage of these from Britain's hand.

Yet the territories controlled by the Netherlands on Kalimantan Island not only have oil but a wealth of coal and other resources. Just the coal deposits in the southern part of Kalimantan account for sixty percent of future Indonesia's coal, and its eastern oil fields were one of three major future Indonesian oil and gas zones (the others being Java Island and Sumatra Island).

Additionally, Kalimantan Island was less developed, holding less significance to the Netherlands compared to Java Island and Sumatra. Java Island was the absolute core, while Sumatra was part of the Malacca Strait.

Thus, for the Netherlands, Kalimantan Island, sharing borders with both East Africa and the United Kingdom, might feel more like a hot potato.

Upon this realization, Ernst immediately directed the Foreign Office to negotiate with the Netherlands, having learned from the Mindanao Island precedent, and hoped for a peaceful acquisition of the southern and eastern parts of Kalimantan Island. If unsuccessful, it wouldn't matter much anyway, since the Netherlands's national power might eventually lead to a withdrawal from the East Indies.

Quickly, East Africa's probing received feedback from the Dutch government. However, no preliminary consensus was reached, primarily because the Netherlands is relatively affluent and astute, asking for high prices.

The Netherlands' rich commercial culture meant that when East African government proposed purchasing Kalimantan Island, the Dutch immediately calculated East Africa's intentions.

This was easy to guess since East Africa already had the Lan Fang Overseas Province on Kalimantan Island. So, the Netherlands speculated that East Africa wanted to expand the province's boundaries.

Over the years, East Africa's expansion in the South Sea Region hasn't slowed, especially after acquiring Mindanao Island; it became one of the major colonial powers in the region.

With Mindanao Island and Kalimantan Island facing each other across the sea, controlling the east of Kalimantan would enable East Africa to link the two colonies together.

While East Africa's reason to buy Kalimantan Island was both reasonable and sufficient, the Netherlands deemed the island equally critical, being the second-largest colony for them.

The first is Sumatra Island, with an area over four hundred thousand square kilometers, and the Dutch-held Kalimantan is also over four hundred thousand, slightly less than Sumatra.

Kalimantan Island spans over seven hundred thousand square kilometers, with portions not under Dutch control due to the UK's and East Africa's presence. Otherwise, Dutch Kalimantan might be the Netherlands' largest colony.

In fact, Kalimantan Island is the largest island in Asia and ranks third globally, only behind Greenland and New Guinea.

New Guinea Island also has Dutch colonial territories, but like Kalimantan, it is divided into three parts belonging to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The Dutch colony on Kalimantan Island occupies over four hundred thousand square kilometers, four times the size of Mindanao Island, with the Dutch considering Kalimantan's importance comparable to that of the Philippines. Hence, their asking price is as high as two hundred million Rhine Shields, nearly twice the US "purchase" price for the Philippines, given that Dutch-controlled Kalimantan's area is double that of the Philippines (excluding Mindanao Island).

Naturally, East Africa couldn't accept this offer; with that much money, East Africa could build a navy and take over the entire Kalimantan Island.

Nor was the Netherlands in any rush, thinking that since East Africa had come to them, it would be best if they accepted the price; if not, the Netherlands could simply refuse to sell.

"If we actually spent two hundred million Rhine Shields to buy Kalimantan from the Dutch, that would make a real international joke. Kalimantan's climate conditions are just slightly better than Alaska's, and its population isn't large either, yet the Dutch dare to ask such high prices," Ernst told his subordinates.

East Africa's expenditures were extensive at the time, so Ernst's expected price for acquiring this "wasteland" of Kalimantan Island was only in the range of several million US Dollars at most. Anything over ten million US Dollars would feel like a loss to Ernst.

After all, purchasing it wouldn't immediately boost East African National Power; Ernst was merely planning for East Africa's future, and acquiring Kalimantan wasn't an absolute necessity.

According to historical progress, as long as East Africa seized the moment, in a few decades at most, Kalimantan Island would still fall into East Africa's hands, even without Japan acting as a disruptive force in the South Sea Region. By then, East Africa's national power would be sufficient to force the Dutch out of the region in disgrace.

This probe extinguished Ernst's enthusiasm for meddling needlessly, noting that the situations in Mindanao Island and Alaska couldn't easily replicate. Spending more on boosting East Africa's strength was the most cost-effective approach.