Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Spanish Navy in 1898 - Armada Options" video.

  1. I'm thinking with Franco friendly to Germany and Italy, but officially neutral, it probably would not have been diplomatic to offer the Japanese bases in the Philippines. Spain could cede the Philippines to Japan the way Spain ceded Florida to the US, but that probably would not be diplomatically acceptable either. Because of Spain's relationship to Japan's allies, a Japanese invasion of the Philippines would not have been greeted with cheers in Madrid or Berlin. As others have suggested, the best course for Japan would be to not attack, but buy the resources it needed from the Philippines, and conserve it's military power for other endeavors. Buying the material might even be cheaper than invading and occupying the islands.
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