The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 513 Inhumanity

Hong Kong.

The entire Peninsula Hotel was booked.

Very rich and powerful!

Not only did Prince Sultan live in the most luxurious suite, but his bodyguards also lived in separate rooms.

Security measures are also very strict.

Liu Tao soon met Prince Sultan, and the two had dealt with each other several times!

Prince Sultan visits China every year, and the two meet once a year.

"Your Highness, it's nice to see you again!" Liu Tao spoke fluent Arabic, which allowed him to communicate directly with Prince Sultan without any obstacles.

The Middle East is a major customer of Panshan Group. Liu Tao has many old friends from the Middle East, so naturally he has to learn Arabic well.

"Liu, I heard that you want to sell naval equipment to us?" Prince Sultan said, "We are friends. I just want to say that our requirements are very high. I am afraid that your Chinese warships are far from our requirements."

Liu Tao smiled and said, "No, no, no, Your Highness, you know me well. Since I am selling it to you, it must be a very advanced warship."

"But you have to know that warships are not cheap. They are even more expensive than advanced military aircraft!" said Liu Tao.

Prince Sultan said noncommittally: "Money, what we Saudis lack the least is money! The question is whether your warships are advanced. As long as the warships are advanced, money is not a problem!"

Saudi Arabia also longs for advanced warships. Although Saudi Arabia can buy warships, neither Europe, the United States nor the Soviet Union is willing to sell brand new advanced warships to Saudi Arabia.

Because Saudi Arabia knows very well that these countries do not want to see Saudi Arabia have a strong navy.

If Saudi Arabia had a strong navy, its voice would be greatly enhanced, both in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

Liu Tao secretly sighed in his heart, this is the real dog owner.

The rich man has a lot of money, but he doesn't take it seriously at all.

There is no way around it. It’s because of their good location. Within the country, you can just find a place within the country and dig a few shovels and you will find oil coming out continuously.

What is oil?

That's money!
Although Saudi Arabia's oil production is currently ranked third in the world and cannot compare with the Soviet Union and the United States, the Soviet Union and the United States are both major oil users. The Soviet Union produces more oil, but the cost of extraction is high. Although its annual oil production is twice that of Saudi Arabia, it actually earns less than Saudi Arabia.

As for the United States, it is the world's largest oil importer, and the oil it produces is not enough for its own consumption.

Saudi Arabia produces 460 million barrels of oil every day, but only a part of it is used by itself. Most of it is exported. At least 440 million barrels of oil are exported every day. With the current oil price exceeding $50, the daily oil exports will exceed $2.2 million!
If this price remains the same throughout the year, Saudi Arabia can earn $800 billion a year from oil exports alone!
Not to mention, Saudi Arabia not only exports crude oil. Its refineries are not small in scale, and Saudi Arabia has the ability to export refined oil products, making more money in this area.

"Your Highness, the advanced performance of the warship is definitely not a problem. My weapons and equipment have never disappointed anyone. Look at the performance of the Type 80 main battle tank, Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and 'Vanguard' portable air defense missile in the Iran-Iraq battlefield, as well as the excellent performance of the 'Eagle Strike' anti-ship missile and 'Aegis' air defense missile system in Libya. They have caused the US military a lot of trouble." Liu Tao said confidently.

It's just him. If it were other countries, they would definitely not sell advanced warships to Saudi Arabia.

Prince Sultan nodded. This was indeed true.

Although the war in Libya has only been going on for a few days, Saudi Arabia is the nominal leader of the Arab world, so it is still easy to get some intelligence.

Four American warships were sunk by the Eagle Strike anti-ship missiles. Many of the planes shot down were the work of the Aegis anti-aircraft missiles. "Liu, you speak so confidently, I want to see it," said Prince Sultan.

"How about this, we'll set off tomorrow and let you see it for yourself. No matter how well I explain it, it can't compare to you seeing it with your own eyes!" Liu Tao said with a smile.

"Okay, you can arrange the itinerary," Prince Sultan said. "By the way, I think Tawfik has asked you if you are willing to help me with this."

Liu Tao smiled and said, "Sure, sure!"

The two of them were eating steak together. This piece of steak was taken from the best part of the best cow. Liu Tao couldn't bear to eat it, so he just ate it for free.

And this red wine is the top-quality red wine that Prince Sultan bought at an auction at a high price.

The two ate, drank and chatted.

The two then talked about the situation in the Middle East.

The current situation in the Middle East consists of two parts. One part is the Iran-Iraq War. The Iran-Iraq War broke out on September 1980, 9 and has lasted for almost 22 years. The outcome has not yet been determined. The Iran-Iraq War undoubtedly affects the entire Middle East and even the entire world.

The other part is about Israel, or more precisely, about the relationship between Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Although the Fifth Middle East War finally ended under the mediation of the United States, Israel suffered heavy losses and its air force was almost completely destroyed. If it were not for the active American pilots flying fighter jets directly to Israel, the Israeli Air Force would probably be in name only and it would take at least many years to recover its strength.

As for Israel's navy, it was almost wiped out. If it weren't for the active-duty US Navy officers who drove several warships to join Israel and support Israel, Israel would have no navy to speak of.

As for the Israeli army, it also suffered heavy losses, with thousands of tanks and armored vehicles destroyed and tens of thousands of troops lost, and even more soldiers injured.

That war destroyed Israel's reputation as the "little bully of the Middle East", and the entire situation immediately became unfavorable to Israel.

Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt all looked at Israel with unfriendly eyes.

Especially since Israel still refuses to accept the two-state solution and recognize the establishment of a Palestinian state, its situation is very bad.

The war did not break out again, but small-scale exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the guerrillas never stopped.

When the Israeli army is on patrol, they may accidentally step on mines or be attacked by rocket launchers or shoulder-fired missiles.

Throughout the year, a large number of tanks and armored vehicles were lost and many soldiers were killed or injured.

A major war did not break out, but small wars continued and both sides suffered heavy losses.

Moreover, the guerrillas do not only come from Palestine, but also include aspiring young people from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries.

Everyone knows that the end of the fifth Middle East war is not a real end, but just the beginning of a new Middle East war. Who knows when the sixth Middle East war will break out!
And here, wealthy countries such as Saudi Arabia have invested a lot of money behind the scenes.

The combat effectiveness of these local tyrant countries is limited, and their soldiers cannot play a big role. Even if they fight a favorable battle, they may be overturned by an unfavorable situation. As for fighting this kind of difficult guerrilla warfare, they are simply unwilling to do so.

Liu Tao knew this very well. The Yemeni guerrillas had defeated the Yemeni armored forces, which were equipped with the most advanced weapons and equipment in the world.

However, if wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia pay for it, there is no problem at all.

Aren’t many of the weapons and ammunition for the guerrillas there bought with money from these wealthy countries?

(End of this chapter)