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At the end of August, freshwater pricing negotiations between Singapore and Malaysia officially began.

Although in the eyes of many people, this round of negotiations is not that important. After all, even if Singapore only needs to pay Malaysia about one billion US dollars in freshwater purchase fees every year according to Malaysia's requirements, China and the United States' performance is eye-catching enough.

At that time, China and the United States were invited by Malaysia and Singapore to send diplomats to participate in the negotiations.

Even if it is not a formal negotiator, it plays a crucial role.

It can be said that this is a microcosm of the game between China and the United States in Southeast Asia.

Because the differences between the two sides were very large, the negotiations were very difficult.

On September 1, Malaysia took the lead in taking action.

According to news released by Malaysian authorities, the Malaysian central government and the Johor local government have signed an agreement with Yuansheng Group to sell all freshwater resources in Johor to the group, and the group will supply water to Johor according to the average water price in Malaysia.

After the formal contract is signed, Yuansheng Group will take over the Tamsui plant in Johor on January 1, 2028.

Now, the contradictions have completely intensified.

You should know that Yuansheng Group is a freshwater resource enterprise under Shengshiping's name, specializing in freshwater purification, wastewater treatment, urban water supply, etc.

Malaysia’s selling freshwater resources in Johor to Yuansheng Group is equivalent to no longer supplying water to Singapore.

To put it bluntly, because the agreement does not include the part of supplying water to Singapore, Singapore can only buy water from Yuansheng Group in the future.

The pricing power is not in the hands of Malaysia, but in the hands of Yuansheng Group.

As a commercial operation, Yuansheng Group has every reason to sell freshwater at the price of oil.

Of course, this has no impact on the residents of Johor, because the agreement clearly stipulates that during the validity period of the contract, Yuansheng Group will provide fresh water to residents, factories and agricultural facilities in Johor, and will have to be repriced every year.

In addition, Malaysian authorities can also provide tax subsidies obtained from Yuansheng Group to Johor.

After the news was announced, Singapore authorities immediately protested, claiming that Malaysia had undermined the agreement with Tamsui supply and that the agreement with Yuansheng Group was not legal.

As for whether it is legal, it is hard to say.

Just as we were about to sue, I was afraid we couldn't figure it out for several years. Nearly tens of millions of people in Singapore could not live without Tamsui for a day, while Singapore's self-sufficiency capacity was only one-third of the demand.

On September 3, US President Macmillan announced that he would send the aircraft carrier battle group of the USS Stanis and the USS Ford to Singapore.

Malaysia did not show weakness, and Mahathir set off for Beijing that day.

However, at this time, the whole world's attention turned to New Delhi.

On September 4, the Chinese delegation arrived in New Delhi, and the first preparation phase meeting between China and India will be held on September 5.

If everything goes well, formal negotiations will begin on September 10.

When the two things got together, the international public opinion community suddenly became enthusiastic.

In both negotiations, China and the United States both played a crucial role, and the struggle between the two major powers became increasingly fierce.

Since it is a struggle, there must be contact.

On September 5, after Macmillan announced the dispatch of a fleet to Singapore, the Chinese Navy's "expeditionary fleet", the aircraft carrier battle group commanded by Yang Yufang, entered Port Blair.

This is definitely a "political action".

At that time, the Marine Corps had just cleared the deep waterways, and the wharfs and other infrastructure had not been restored. The fleet's entry into Port Blair has no practical significance. At most, it can only anchor and cannot carry out normal maintenance. Moreover, the Chinese fleet has gone to sea for less than two months, so there is no need to carry out maintenance.

This is just to prove that the Chinese Navy controls Port Blair and regards Port Blair as its home port.

The next day, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced that the fleet will go to Malacca on September 10 to conduct an official military visit to Malaysia, and will hold a joint search and rescue exercise with the Malaysian Navy during the visit, and will be opened to the public for two days at the dock.

There is no doubt that it is lively now.

According to the arrangements of the US Navy, the two aircraft carriers will arrive in Singapore on September 11, while the two aircraft carriers of the Chinese Navy will arrive in Malaysia one day ahead of schedule.

Although in the eyes of most people, the Chinese and US navies will not fight, the strength of the two fleets has become the most concerned topic of the public.

Which of these two fleets is stronger?

In terms of the number of aircraft carriers, the US fleet has a clear advantage. Even under normal circumstances, the two super aircraft carriers can carry nearly 150 fighter jets, and the Chinese Navy's two medium aircraft carriers are at most. In wartime situations, the US aircraft carriers can also increase the carrying capacity to more than 90 aircraft, and up to 110 aircraft, which is twice the average Chinese Navy's medium aircraft carriers under normal circumstances.

However, in terms of combat capabilities of carrier-based aircraft, the Chinese Navy has obvious advantages.

The combat effectiveness of j-25 has been proven. Defeating f-22i and f-35c many times in air combat can be regarded as the world's most outstanding medium-sized carrier-based fighter. j-15b has also withstood the test of actual combat. Although it has no chance to participate in air combat, its ability to strike sea and ground is undoubtedly above the fa-18ef. In terms of crucial early warning aircraft, the performance of zy-1 will not be much worse than that of e-2e.

More importantly, Chinese aircraft carriers also have electromagnetic catapults, and their dispatching capacity reaches about two-thirds of that of US aircraft carriers.

In terms of escorting warships, Chinese cruisers successfully intercepted incoming ballistic missiles, and Chinese warships participated in air defense operations in the East China Sea War. More importantly, the Battle of Lombok Strait proved that Chinese warships had strong sea strike capabilities. Relatively speaking, since the Second Korean War, the US Navy has not participated in large-scale wars, and the combat capabilities of warships have not been verified.

It can be said that the biggest advantage of the Chinese fleet is its rich practical experience.

Will the Chinese and American fleets fight in the Strait of Malacca?

The answer is obviously no. After all, neither side has this intention, nor has the motivation to launch a war. Sending the fleet to Southeast Asia is just a political action.

At that time, the key was not New Delhi, but Singapore.

The results of the bilateral negotiations between China and India have long been determined. As long as China does not make any demands on southern Tibet, India will not be able to recover Port Blair.

The key is whether China will occupy Port Blair or lease Port Blair from India.

If it were the former, the war would not end, and India would not be able to sign a truce treaty with the other side when the territory was occupied.

Only by converting it into a legal lease can the Indian authorities make concessions.

Now, the problem arises.

How long does it take to rent?

For the Chinese Navy, of course, the longer the better, because Port Blair is the bridgehead of the Chinese fleet in the Indian Ocean and the springboard for China to enter the Indian Ocean. According to the plan proposed by Teng Yaohui, Port Blair will be rebuilt according to the standards of the home port of the local fleet. As expected, after the negotiations are over, Teng Yaohui will propose to form an Indian Ocean fleet to deploy a threatening force in the Indian Ocean for a long time.

In this way, you have to spend a lot of effort on Port Blair.

The problem is that India cannot make comprehensive concessions and will definitely make a fuss about the rental time.

According to the situation at that time, the minimum term was twenty years and the maximum term was ninety-nine years. However, due to the restrictions of relevant international treaties and practices, India would never accept a lease agreement for more than fifty years. The reason is very simple. As long as China controls Port Blair for more than fifty years, it has the right to initiate a referendum in the region, and the residents of Port Blair decide whether to return to India or become a ** country.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been prepared for this issue.

In negotiations, the maximum period must be proposed, that is, the lease period is 99 years, and then concessions must be made, and the bottom line is 49 years. In addition, an additional clause must be added, that is, after the forty-nine-year obstacle period has arrived, both parties can discuss whether to extend the obstacle period.

In short, even if China does not seek to take Port Blair for itself, it will not return it to India.

At this time, the role of Teng Yaohui in the negotiations on behalf of the military was revealed. As a "major navalist", Teng Yaohui would definitely not make concessions.

It can be said that India has no choice but to accept the conditions offered by China.

Another key point of the negotiation is the resource development issue of the Siachen Glacier.

Although China has made concessions in this regard, that is, it does not support Pakistan in occupying the entire Siachen Glacier, but instead set up a third-party peacekeeping force to set up a quarantine zone between India and Pakistan, China's attitude on resource development is very strong, that is, it must be agreed by both India and Pakistan. Any unilateral resource exploitation action will be regarded as undermining the armistice agreement, and China has the obligation to assist Pakistan.

Obviously, China's position is simple: preventing Japan from obtaining crucial strategic resources.

There is a very important factor in China's ability to take a tough stance in the New Delhi negotiations, that is, China has the initiative in the situation and no matter how long it takes to talk, it will be harmless.

For India, the situation is not so optimistic.

The longer the negotiations are delayed, the more passive India becomes and the fewer benefits it will get from the negotiating table. If it is delayed for a few years, China and Pakistan will turn military occupation into a fait accompli, and India will have no room for maneuver and will even have to accept more harsh ceasefire conditions.

More importantly, India can only obtain military aid from the United States if the armistice is signed.

The reason is very simple. The United States has long issued relevant laws prohibiting the sale of arms and military supplies to non-allied countries in a state of war.

India is not an ally of the United States, so it is naturally within the limits.

Affected by this, the negotiations in New Delhi were progressing very smoothly.

By the end of September, India had agreed in principle to the conditions offered by China, renting out Port Blair for 49 years, and sending troops from China and the United States to control the military isolation area near the Siaqin Glacier, conduct resource mining negotiations with Pakistan, and exchange all prisoners of war before the armistice negotiations ended.

Relatively speaking, Singapore's negotiations have not been so smooth...
Chapter completed!