Chapter 1344: Chapter 969: Every Country Has Its Own Agenda_3 Chapter 1344: Chapter 969: Every Country Has Its Own Agenda_3 If Norway sides with Britain, wouldn’t that make it a common enemy of both Sweden and Finland to some extent?

Looking at the pre-war appeasement policies, being Britain’s little brother is not necessarily reliable. This is also why Sweden chose to embrace Australasia.

For countries in Europe and other regions, isn’t choosing a powerful ally aimed at ensuring their own security and development?

No matter how harmonious the relations between two countries appear, the most important theme remains securing their own safety.

While the British influence in Europe might be higher, merely relying on Britain’s appeasement policy is enough to deter some countries that lack self-defense capabilities.

After all, if relying on such a “big brother” still can’t ensure one’s own safety, then why rely on them at all?

This is also an attractive aspect of Australasia. While Britain and France were extensively adopting appeasement policies, Australasia had repeatedly opposed these policies at previous World Alliance meetings and even tried to protect the interests of the vulnerable countries.

In this respect, Australasia undeniably gained a lot of goodwill, further emboldened by the context provided by Britain and France, which made the actions of the Australasian government appear more just.

Of course, Australasia’s decision to help the Nordic countries reclaim their territories came with demands.

Earlier in discussions with the Swedish government and the Government of Finland, Australasia had requested to lease land on Finland’s Oran Island and Sweden’s Gotland to build military bases.

Both islands are located in the Baltic Sea and roughly at the center of the Baltic Sea.

If military bases were established on these two islands, they could not only cover the entire Baltic Sea but also extend their influence to Northern Europe, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe.

If conflicts with the Russians arose in the future, the deployed navy could threaten the Baltic Fleet of Russia, and the deployed air force and missile troops could threaten Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Also, the military bases deployed here would also serve as protection for the countries within the scope of Australasia.

After all, when Germany attacked Finland, the Russians also took the opportunity to occupy a large area of northern Finland.

Additionally, considering the long oppressive rule of the Russian Empire over Finland, the conflict between Finland and Russia runs deep.

To protect countries like Finland, it is necessary to build military bases within the Baltic scope.

This request was quickly agreed upon by the Swedish and Finnish governments because Australasia also explained that the stationed forces here would primarily consist of small naval and air force bases and would not station too many land forces.

This way, the influence of the military bases on Finland and Sweden would be minimal and could protect these countries to some extent.

After all, not just Finland, Sweden is also quite wary of Russia. The entire Nordic Trio being monarchies makes them vulnerable should a Russian revolution occur, and the fate of the Russian Monarchy would not be so graceful.

If it hadn’t been for Arthur’s covert protection and a certain level of threat, the nominal Russian Monarchy might no longer exist.

The Australasia Army’s decision to continue assisting Finland in liberating its territories also aimed to intensify the conflict between Finland and Russia. After all, given Finland’s proximity to Russia, if some of the Finnish people were influenced by Russia, it could inevitably destabilize Dmitry’s rule over Finland.

To avoid such influences, fostering intense hatred of Germany among the Finnish people becomes necessary.

Russia suddenly occupying a large part of northern Finland’s land serves as a perfect pretext. Even if the Russians choose to back down and return the lands, Australasia could still highlight Russia’s opportunist behavior during their downfall.

If the Russians choose not to relent, it would be even better. Not only would it intensify the conflict between Finland and Russia, but Arthur also wouldn’t mind giving Russia a lesson near the end of the war.

As long as Russia doesn’t have the Atomic Bomb, Australasia could unabashedly magnify Russia’s actions this time.

After all backed by the entire United Nations, at worst they could sacrifice certain interests and, along with the British, push the entire United Nations to declare war on Russia.

Simply put, at this time, Australasia holds the advantage, and Russia in Northern Europe simply cannot compete with Australasia.