I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 805 - 703: The Center of the World Island

As the war had already commenced, the military began to fully engage in the counterattack, and Chen Xin became busy alongside them.

However, this time he did not need to go to the front lines or be responsible for all aspects of the work. After all, it was within the country, and there were people handling these matters, plus the situation in the Flame Country was far stronger than in Europe, leaving fewer concerns.

Thus, even though many tasks piled up on Chen Xin’s desk, he was still able to contemplate the defensive issues concerning the Middle East direction after finishing his work.

The so-called Middle East Region refers to the region stretching from the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean coastline to the shores of the Persian Gulf, including most of West Asia except Afghanistan and Egypt in Africa, as well as the South Caucasus Region bordering Russia.

This area connects the continents of Eurasia and Africa, serving as a hub for Eastern and Western traffic since ancient times, being a place of "two oceans, three continents, five seas," and possessing tremendous strategic importance.

In 1902, English geographer and geopolitician Halford Mackinder proposed the World Island theory, viewing the continents of Eurasia and Africa as one World Island, with the Middle East Region as its center.

According to the World Island theory, whoever controls the center of the World Island can thus control the entire World Island and subsequently the world.

During the era of cold weapons, due to problems with transportation, technology, and productivity, no country could manage to control the center of the World Island, yet historically it remained a crucial traffic passageway connecting the continents of Eurasia and Africa, with this status continuing to present times.

However, with historical development and continuous improvement in productivity, this land has always been coveted regardless of the World Island theory proposed by Halford Mackinder.

From the "the heavenly God grants me rights" of the Empire on which the sun never sets to the two superpowers contending for world hegemony after World War II, wars on this land post-World War II were mostly the mess left behind by English occupation of this land and the conflicts incited by the Federation and Suyia to strive for world dominance.

This illustrates just how crucial the strategic significance of this region is.

Even for a world devastated by disaster, this region remains an essential traffic chokepoint, and although the Flame Country can travel to Europe via Lucia, and Africa has severed all communication, the Middle East Region still holds immense strategic significance.

Foreign alien creatures can entirely invade the Middle East Region from the Mediterranean, and after crossing the Arabian Peninsula and Iranian Plateau, they have unobstructed access whether advancing south to attack the Indian Peninsula or north to the Central Asia Region.

The sole possible blockade left could be the so-called Roof of the World, the Himalayas, which can leverage geography to obstruct alien creatures advancing east and penetrate the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

This scenario substantiates Halford Mackinder’s World Island theory: whoever controls this region can control the continents of Eurasia and Africa, thereby mastering the entire World Island.

For humanity, this represents the worst-case scenario.

Currently, humanity has erected two significant defense lines: one along the northern Mediterranean coast, and another across Eastern Europe, with the southern end extending towards the Middle East Region but only reaching near the area of the Great Caucasus Mountains at present, using the terrain to block alien creatures’ progression paths.

If alien creatures cannot be prevented on the Mesopotamian Plain and are allowed to cross the Iranian Plateau, it would mean the entire Asian continent opens its doors to alien creatures.

Therefore, the Flame Country’s current plan is to promptly resolve issues in the Dongting Lake Region and allocate troops and resources for defense in the Middle East Region.

However, there exists debate over how to construct the defense line in the Middle East region.

Currently, the most effective approach is naturally to build a defense line leveraging the terrain on the west side of the Zagros Mountains on the Iranian Plateau and connect it with the Eastern European defense line along the Great Caucasus Mountains, forming a whole to block alien creatures on the Mesopotamian Plain if they truly assault from here.

But some domestic high-level officials feel constructing the defense line so far away is excessive.

They believe the Flame Country shouldn’t build defense lines as far away as the Middle East but rather build along the Himalayas and protect the national border.

If purely considering the length of the defense line and the engineering quantity, there’s not much difference between the Zagros Mountains and the Himalayas.

Both are mountainous terrains where the defense line length doesn’t vary much, and the Himalayas’ terrain is even steeper, making defense line construction more beneficial for defense.

But comparing the positions on the map, it’s understandable that constructing a defense line solely on the Himalayas can indeed block alien creatures’ eastward invasions toward the Flame Country, protecting the homeland well.

However, simultaneously, the Central Asia Region and Indian Peninsula remain unguarded areas for alien creatures passing through the Middle East Region.

Even as ocean surfaces freeze, alien creatures can slightly venture eastward and threaten Southeast Asia.

In Chen Xin’s view, the position to build the defense line harbors no dispute, as constructing the line in the Middle East Region effectively connects with the Eastern European defense line, enhancing the defensive effect and enabling collaboration with allies to protect more areas.

Building the defense line in the Zagros Mountains in the Middle East is undoubtedly a multi-benefit endeavor.

Yet moving the defense line back to the Himalayas would significantly diminish its role.

Not to mention the unshielded Central Asia and Indian Peninsula allowing alien creatures unobstructed attacks, just letting them pass through the Middle East Region already profoundly impacts the Flame Country.

The most straightforward consequence is that after Central Asia and the Indian Peninsula get invaded, the Flame Country faces alien creatures attacking from three directions.

This, without doubt, greatly amplifies the Flame Country’s operational consumption.

Furthermore, after alien creatures seize Central Asia, they can continue northward toward Lucia, putting Lucia in a situation of being attacked from both front and back, with the risk of losing European Region territory along with its most elite land or potentially suffering complete national collapse.

Chen Xin couldn’t comprehend why higher-ups had differing views on this issue. Were individuals truly short-sighted to such an extent?

Or were individuals playing disreputable roles in this situation, intending to exploit it for personal gain?

Yet the problem is alien creatures are mere beasts akin to bugs, making it impossible for humans to betray national interests by siding with alien creatures for personal benefit!