The following is the continuation of the previous chapter.
The UK gives advice
From Russia's perspective, the appearance of Japan that throws out the vast Sakhalin and wants the Kuril Islands where stones lined up go may have been strange.
Certainly the Meiji government of those days was weak, and there was no financial or military allowance to rule Sakhalin.
However, Britain's suggestion is bigger than that.
"Sakhalin development is impossible in Japan's national strength and cannot be defended.
In Kuril Islands it is easy to defend because the surrounding area is the sea." "If you leave Sakhalin as it is, Russia expanding southward extends to Hokkaido" "Even if Russia invades, The British Navy can send reinforcements in the Kuril Islands "-.
The UK continued to send such advice to the Meiji government's key people.
Its controller is Harry Parks of the British Ambassador to Japan.
It seems that he directly worked on Toshimichi Okubo, which is said to be "Three great nobles".
The UK at the time is the world's most naval state called "the country where the sun does not set".
Be trained in the maritime strategy in the UK Britain is concerned about the Russian navy to advance into the Pacific in the future, by bringing Kuril Islands to Japan, it thought about keeping the Russian navy in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Russia took the coastal province from China in Beijing Treaty in 1860, and made Vladivostok as a military port.
In 1861, Russian warship Posadonic invaded Tsushima / Asaka Bay and occupied the center of the island. Captain Nicolai Biliryov asked the shogunate for "leasing Tsushima" "construction of military facilities" "food" "prostitute".
After all, under the arbitration of the UK, although the Posadonic was withdrawn, the UK has become able to take a nerve to Russia’s advance to the Pacific from this time.
Containment of the Russian Navy by the Kuril islands and the Japanese archipelago was a British national strategy.
This draft continues.