2017: A New Dawn (IC, Open)

[The Miaphysite Church of Coptic Archism]

2017: A New Dawn
IC

OOC

Hello everyone, I haven't OP'd for a while but I've been recently really feeling a modern nations RP so I decided to whip one up myself. The ground rules are fairly simple, I'm sure you've all heard them before. Follow all the forum-wide rules, obviously, keep any insults and appropriate offensive language to IC only, don't god-mode or metagame. As far as post quality goes, please at the very least try your best but one-liners and the like are not welcome. Finally, and I can not stress this enough, there is no alternate history up until the starting date of January 20th, 2017. You can take your nation in whatever direction you like from this point (within the bounds of realism of course) but you start with the exact same circumstances as in real life.

Accepted:
Canada - Tysoania
Pakistan - Republic of the Cristo
UK - Great Nepal
Angola - Newne Carriebean7
Germany - Zarzadon
USA - Waztaskio
Philippines - Calindelo
Singapore - Duestchstien
Switzerland - United Republic of Great Britain
China - Bentus
Russia - Imperial Avantia
Mexico - Pimps Inc

Reserved:
Jordan - Krugeristan
Egypt - Gyrenaica
DPRK - Democratic East-Asia

[Republic of the Cristo]

The Prime Minister's Secretariat, office of the Prime Minister

The early morning hours of Islamabad were quiet and sleepy. The sun was barely rising, and no man in their right mind would be awake at such a time. That being said, within the office of Prime Minister Sharif, one would find a very awake man. He sat at large and marble topped desk and starred dourly into a computer monitor - completely alert despite the early morning. Starring back from the monitor was the very tired and weary face of a Major General. Aasaal.

The reason which prompted this early morning call was the yearly security briefing which had been had yesterday. Maj General. Aasaal was the current head of on ground operations in the tribal areas of North Western Pakistan, and was the premier commander in that area in the fight against the Taliban. " We take a village today, we occupy it for a week, we move on to take the next village, and we find out that the Taliban have taken the village we just left a few hours later. We don't have the man power to occupy all the territory we need. " Among the topics discussed at the security briefing, the Taliban and their growing success in Afghanistan was chief among them. They were becoming emboldened in their attacks.

" I can redirect a division from the Indian border to your command if that would be any help. " Aasaal now looked awake. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. " 20,000 men from the Indian front to help fight the Talibs? I mean - yes, it would help immensely. But won't General Abbud ( supreme commander over Pakistani forces along the Indian border ) have fits over such a relocation? " Nawaz's dour expression broke when the right side of his mouth curled up in a cruel grin. " Oh... he did. I made a similar call to him only a few hours before this. I told him that he would have to be ready to loose up to three divisions should the time come. He was in an absolute fury when I told him that, and threatened not to comply - which I countered with a proposed visit by the ISI. "

At the mention of the ISI, Nawaz noticed general Aasaal's eyes grow slightly larger, and his breaths to be a bit longer. So much as mentioning the mysterious and all powerful Inter-service Intelligence makes most citizens tense up. So long as you were on the ISI's good side, they could be used as a powerful means of control; if you were on the ISI's bad side though well... more than a few of Pakistan's Prime Ministers have lost their power and their lives by mysterious causes. " Anyhow, I will be sending you your new division as you requested, the... Balochi 21st! They should be under your command by the end of the week. " What with the talk of the ISI, the Talibs, and a veritable promotion, General Aasaal was now wide awake. He previous feeling of fear and suspicion was now replaced by greed and ambition. " Um... in addition to extra man power, my men could desperately use extra air support. Nothing major, just something for tactical strikes - against hard to reach targets behind enemy lines. "

Nawaz nodded his head. Nawaz had spent the last two straight days doing his homework on not only the fight against the Talibs, but on the current state of Pakistan's national defense as a whole. This was the third time he has been Prime Minister: twice in the 90's, and now this term. Things were bad in the 90's, but things were not spiraling out of control. The Taliban now actually were a powerful group who could hypothetically exert real control over parts of the country, India was now a growing super power, ISIS was an ever looming and blistering pest, with the full fruition of globalism to Pakistan came some of the worst corruption in Asia... not as bad as India, but still pretty bad. The situation was getting out of hand and had to be realed in, no matter how Hobbesian the methods had to be. " Not to worry, I sent a message to the United States a few hours ago concerning just that. Assuming that everything goes as plans, you should be receiving exactly what you need. "

The explanation was a little vague but Aasaal was grateful for the confirmation of something coming his way... finally. " Will there be anything Mr. Prime Minister? " With the invitation, Naway leaned forward in his seat towards the camera; his eyes starred unblinking into Aasaal's. " For the time being that will be all. Know though, that I am putting a great deal of faith and trust into your capabilities general, not to mention thousands of lives. I expect for this campaign to finally start making positime gains. " Nawaz sunk back into his chair. " Don't fail me! " Aasaal nodded respectfully. " I won't sir. " Nawaz nodded, " I should hope so. Over and out. " Aasaal saluted one last time before his end of the video message ended with a blank screen withe the words no signal a crossed it' center.

Silence filled the room again and Nawaz put his hand on his face and rubbed his weary and tired eyes. He has been up for two straight days, non stop calls and meetings, and death threats. As he rubbed his tired eyes he started thinking about the warm beached of karachi, and the seagulls flying over his head. He soon fell into a deep SD leep, right in the arm chair

To: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
From: Minister of Foreign affairs Khariim Qassim

Just this week, our military has begun to shift it's military strength over to the tribal northwestern parts of our nation in the fight against the Taliban. With our new found initiative against the Taliban, we have found a necessity for the ability to carry out tactical aerial strikes. This letter is a petition of you to please send designs for a variety of tactical UAV's. These would prove invaluable to our joined fight against the terrorists.

Signed,
Khariim Qassim

[Pimps Inc]

.

[Bentus]

“Put together, Najib’s and Duterte’s back-to-back visits to Beijing have provoked panic in some western capitals, with observers causally warning about a wave of defections among traditional western partners now pivoting to China.”
– Aljazeera, 9 November 2016

“China’s lecturing the United States on the need to fight climate change is a reversal from the usual roles and a sign that, with the United States governed by Mr. Trump, China may have to take the leadership position in the global campaign.”
– The New York Times, 18 November 2016

“China is making a strategic pivot towards innovation, and it will be game-changing.”
– Watersone Management Groups white paper: "The Real China Threat: Innovation."

“[Japanese President] Abe told Xiaojing he would like to seek comprehensive improvement of ties with eyes on the 45th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations next year…”
– Japan Today, 21 November 2016

“China is taking advantage of the statements made by Trump during the presidential campaign to occupy, if not monopolize, the high moral and political ground.”
– Bloomberg Politics, 20 November 2016

“We had our horse, the Chinese had their horse, but our horse has been put out to pasture and is no longer running in the race.”
– Altbach, former deputy assistance US Trade Representative for China Affairs

Beijing | The People's Republic of China | January 2017

Act I : A Slumbering Dragon

---

“Medium cappuccino and black tea!” The barista’s voice lifted over the constant din of conversation in the crowded coffee shop, a young woman immediately making her way over in response. She was practically grinning from ear-to-ear as she offered a quick thanks, visibly giddy with excitement at the caffeinated beverage. Her features were youthful, although the pair of rectangular, thin-rimmed glasses only slightly managed to disguise the tired bags that hung beneath her eyes. Liwei couldn’t help but yawn himself as the woman returned to their table, depositing his tea in front of him before flopping herself in the chair opposite. She wasted no time in gulping down her beverage, letting out a satisfied sigh as the warm liquid snaked down her throat.

“Honestly Li, do you really think that’s going to help keep you up at all?” Yahui smirked at her friend as he took a patient sip from his tea, her cappuccino already nearly half gone.
“After forty-eight hours in a room of lawyers, diplomats and financial technicalities, the last thing I want to do is stay up for a single second more than I must.”

Yahui pouted, waving away her friend’s concern even as she took another inelegant swig of coffee before responding. “Well, I thought it was exciting! I never knew that there’s so many nuances to it all, and you have to be able to grasp the importance of each and every one.” She was practically beaming, no doubt in part due to the caffeine-saturated blood coursing through her veins as far as Liwei was concerned. “Plus, while you diplomats were posturing with your plumage, there were some amazing presentations on some of the new publications – the Australians had some beautiful models on fluid dynamics.”

Liwei grunted, having no intention of falling into the trap of encouraging Yahui into a scientific topic of discussion. “Glad you enjoyed yourself.”

Truthfully, Liwei had to admit that there was nothing like the thrill of negotiations. Of the verbal fencing that arose from disagreements and the mental challenge of seeking out sources of mutual agreement. Guiltily, there was also a sense of pride in being present for particularly such an important exchange as well. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership had been thrust into the forefront of Chinese economic policy as the election results had rolled out of America. The TPP, spearheaded and lauded by the outgoing President while being crafted as a means to isolate the rising power of East-Asia, had suddenly been left dead in the water. The opportunity to push for China’s own trading bloc was self-evident, but there had been a greater need to remind the world that the path of free trade and liberalisation in the region had not become derailed.

Fortunately, the rest of the signatories seemed to share China’s concern as the treaty was accelerated towards finalisation. For the past forty-eight hours, Liwei had been charged with helping to forge the details of the agreement, leaving only when a replacement arrived to take his place and continue the ongoing process. Yahui had been called in to as part of a delegation representing Chinese scientific and engineering interests, the playful prospect of multilateral cooperation a sure-sign of just how close the treaty was from being finalised.

The woman scowled as she realised that her cup was already empty, raising her hand in an effort to grab the server’s attention. The barista nodded in response as Yahui pointed towards the empty cup, signalling for another of the same. Liwei shook his head, unable to stop himself from smiling. He had worked with Yahui on and off for years, having first met when she gave him a briefing on new hardware developments she had been working on for the Chengdu. Since then, they’d both established themselves as rising stars in their respective fields – Liwei as a diplomat for the Communist Party, and Yahui as an engineering prodigy. Not that either one of them made any effort to seek out wider, more public attention.

“Anyway, when was Qiu Fang meant to get here? I didn’t bring enough for a third cup so it better be soon unless you want to cover me.” Yahui smirked towards her friend, relaxing in her chair.

“Soon. And it shouldn’t take long, I just need to fill him in on the protocols before he dives into the deep end.”

Liwei fought back another yawn with another sip of his tea, putting off the promise of sleep for just a little bit longer. As if on cue, he saw the other diplomat enter the café, scanning the tables for Liwei and Yahui. Banishing the fatigue from his expression, Liwei lifted a hand to catch the man’s attention and prepared to once again get to work.

[Calindelo]

Philippine News

Duterte Declaring Martial Law?

After a recent speech in Manila, President Duterte might declare Martial law in the following months.

"With the islamic insurgency on the rise in Mindanao, oh. I'm very sure I'm going to declare martial law."

"75,000 experienced human rights abuses during Marcos' regime? Oh my Lo.... 100,000 people to save is better than 75,000."

"ISIL has been making various attacks in Mindanao! They have contaminated Mindanao! Now it is our time to strike!"

Minor News

Catholic Church "Load of Bu****it"?

Protests againsts Martial Law across the country

Value of Philippine Peso Dropping since Duterte administration

[Tysoania]

Canada's National Newspaper

PARLIAMENT REVOLTS



OTTAWA - There was chaos on Parliament Hill today as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed the House of Commons that the government would now refuse any orders from the Queen of England, Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second. Normally, all passed laws require Royal Assent before becoming the law of the land; however, Trudeau announced that this was no longer in effect. Stunned MPs left the emergency session in a daze as news media ran to get more information on this sudden about-face by the Canadian government; however, there was none to be had. The government refused to hold a press conference after the unexpected announcement, and no more information has been distributed as of this printing. The TSX responded sharply with a further drop in the value of the loonie as foreign governments maintained an ominous silence. The future of royal property in Canada, such as Rideau Hall, is unknown at this time. Both Sir David Johnston, Governor-General of Canada, and Buckingham Palace have yet to respond to the actions of the Queen's rebellious Canadian subjects. Continued on p. 4

Mexican President Disappears: p. A7
Is Canada Facing Stagflation?: p. A13
Graham Rockingham's Best Bets: p. E3

[Great Nepal]

Office of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
9 Downing Street
"Yes, I did hear him speak outside the courts", nodded the undersecretary to the parliamentary secretary to the treasury upon being summoned into the office, "we did advise very strongly for him to make no comments on the matter after the Nazi incident", he added seemingly to his defense taking a seat across from Williamson "but a man is like human chatterbox, never really did learn to keep his mouth shut".

"An absolute buffoon", chimed in the parliamentary secretary to the treasury taking a sip from his tea as he added "just slightly paler and less orange one, why was he appointed anyways"?

"I believe the general sentiment for the prime minister was that it'd be far better to keep him inside where he can pee outside rather than keeping him outside resulting in him peeing inside", responded the cabinet secretary, "not to mention we're full steam ahead on leaving the European Union, and she was running short on promising candidates who supported the right side of the debate".

"That assumes he can be house trained to pee outside and won't just take a leak where he is standing, in our plates", countered the parliamentary secretary quite obviously fed up with having the issue come across his desk on a virtually weekly basis "you know making sure the entire parliamentary party and the cabinet behaves themselves takes quarter of my time, managing with him takes up half of my time, and fixing his mess takes up the remaining quarter."

"Well that's why we have you, to crack the whip and house train people like him, so they know where to pee, where not to pee and when to keep their mouth shut"

"Why can't we kick him upstairs, it'd be a great honor for him and we'd not need to deal with this nonsense every single time; say he's getting an honor for his services to", drawing out his words to give a momentary thought, parliamentary secretary adds "bicycles or something like that".

"I'm rather doubtful the lords will support the government in any bill in the future if we make them put up with him", the undersecretary adds rather softly.

"So nothing different than now then", jibes back the parliamentary secretary putting down his cup to lean back.

"Very droll, however unfortunately Daniels is entirely correct - the lords is entirely out of the question. We need reliable people to vote through our bills, they are not bound by public vote and we need their favor", standing up to leave the cabinet secretary adds "in any event, he should be arriving shortly so please do deal with him, and figure out a way to fix this".

Picking up the phone which started ringing from an internal number, almost too perfectly on time with the cabinet secretary departure the parliamentary secretary's face changes to far more stern as he answers "yes, send him in please". As the minister entered the room, Williamson stands up, announcing sarcastically "The man who knows more about law than our supreme court judges, I'm rather gland to have you here, again". Interrupting before the minister has an opportunity to speak again he continues "so legally speaking what employment rights does a washed up minister who can't keep his gob shut for a minute, and who lost the bid to be leader of the party has if his prime minister decides he's too much trouble than is worth"?

"What are you talking about, the people loved my speech - its apparently getting published. The judges might not have liked it but I'm pretty sure now no one cares about them. We'll be famous as the people who stood up to-" the minister answers confidently taking a seat in the broad sofa.

"Stood up to the enemies of the people?" Williamson interrupts angrily "remember how that went for the mail? We're already facing criticism for not standing up strongly enough for the independence of the judiciary from last time, we're legal professionals crying war and now you go on to further impeach our credibility with the judiciary by questioning their competence?" While the minister attempts to correct him, he keeps talking over "And what was that silly idea about parliament getting a vote in judges appointments because otherwise it'd be undemocratic, this could literally cost the government the lords ".

The minister finally managing to get a word in simply states "I didn't say that, I merely suggested we should look towards emulating the parliamentary hearings like with committees and you're overreacting it''ll blow over fine."

"God damn it Boris!", Williamson shouts visibly exasperated, "the attorney general has threatened to resign because he can't face his colleagues if he is in government that looks like it is looking to curtail independence of the judiciary and we've had already had conversation with the bar association who're demanding your head. If you don't put this right, you will be fired tomorrow over you sick mother or something, as prime minister announces that there has been no plans to implement parliamentary hearings over the judges and thanks the judges for their devoted service."

"Wait, what but -"

Noticing him fluster, Williamson continues to land the punches "you're going to turn up the parliament today in evening representing the government, it'll be well covered by press because it'll be the first one since the verdict. I will talk to some backbenchers into give you nice openings and you will give a speech defending and praising the judiciary and the judges independence like your life depended on it. Otherwise you can leave your resignation letter with the cabinet office on the way out".

---

Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson Says The Brexit Vote To Be Confidence Vote
1 hour ago
Boris Johnson,

who had come under increasing pressure over his stance towards the judiciary appears to have made a u-turn over the course of the day, now suggesting in his statements in house of commons that he is indeed for independently selected the house of commons, and praised the judges for their bravery and wise words when distancing themselves from the political implications of their rulings. The minister further went on to state "it is inherently British to respect the rule of the law", and further indicated that whilst he himself was disappointed with the verdict, the government will not seek to appeal it to the European court in response to SNP benches questioning if government would appeal to the European courts to uphold government's perceived right to take back control by removing parliament from the decision making.

However following heated exchange with UKIP MP, Douglas Carswell on if this sudden turn around was because of government never really wanted to go ahead with Brexit, recognizes it will loose the vote and just realized courts had handed then get out of jail free card, the minister responded "that is entirely preposterous suggestion and government was very committed to putting a bill to a vote shortly and demonstrating to the member that government holds the confidence of both parliament and nation".

Whilst the government is widely expected to win the parliamentary vote, it is nevertheless a rather bold move to make it a matter of confidence for the government.

[Duestchstien]

Singapore, Singapore

Lee Hsiang Loong sat in his office early in the morning, he stared at his computer reading through some updates in the world. Suddenly Ng Eng Hen buried through the doors to the room. He waved a packet of papers and slammed it on the table. Lee jumped at the loud noise, "Has it ever occurred to you to knock", he said in a calm voice before taking a look at the papers. "I'm sorry Prime Minister, but this is important, I need you to sign these papers for the purchase of 4 Type 54D Destroyers and 6 Type 56 Corvettes". "Whhyyyy?" Said Lee. "Because the Corvettes would be very helpful in controlling pirates, and the 54D Destroyers have Aegis meaning they have both anti Air and anti Submarine weapons equipped, these would greatly help us in National derense and help protect our growing trade Network. "Fine" said Lee with a sigh "But make sure President Tan is notified of this as well, he said as he started signing the several papers. "Yes Mister Prime Minister" Ng replied.

As the day drew on Lee went to a meeting to talk about the increasing execution rates, as he walked up the door he could clearly hear yelling and arguing. "Oh god" he said to himself before walking into the room. "Quiet!" He said as he walked into the room, everyone sat down. Alright so what are the proposed actions you suggested we take. One of the men in the room started talking. "We must remove the death penalty, Prime Minister!" he took and Tissue and dabbed some of the sweat off his face. "It's the reason death rates are so high." Another man started to shout over him "Our crime rates would sky rocket, the only reason crime is as low as it is is because of our harsh punishments!". "Silence" said Lee if you propose lowering crimes with capital punishment then what punishments do you think we put in place rather than it. "Well" said the sweaty man. "I'd say we should charge a high fine for most of these crimes and a public flogging and the courts will just sentence the amount of years in prison." "Alright" said Lee "it will be thought about however, that man is right" he pointed at the man who talked over everyone "one of the reasons the crime rate is so low is because of capital punishment." He immediately walked out of the room trying to get as far away as possible as quickly as he could before an all out battle broke out in there.

[Zarzadon]

A right wing rally was held today in Munich. Most of the people attending where not the radical Neo Nazis but more traditional conservatives. Instead of calling refugees 'rapists', or Merkel a Nazi, or waving old german flags, they mainly just asked two questions around the lines of, 'Why is it wrong to be German?' and, 'Isn't suppressing the Right Wing censorship?'. Of course this was met with extreme hatred as a group of radical left wingers approached the rally and began yelling and shouting at them, calling them 'Nazis' and 'islamophobic'.

"Germans are terrible people! That's why we shouldn't be proud!", Said one agueing with them.

"You are all Nazis! That's why you're all Censored!", Said another.

Unfortunately this incident turned quickly turned into pushing and shoving before getting pretty violent. No one was severely hurt but local authorities had to be called in. It's unclear who the initial aggressors where.

With the election coming up in September, It seems these Right Wing protests will be occurring more and more, as we have seen in this past week, as they attempt to gain enough support to nab the presidency and chancellorship. It's entirely possible, how ever unlikely, that we could see a political situation similar to what the United States with there elections last year. But we doubt that as the Right Wing is very small here in Germany.

In other news it was announced earlier today that a bill has been passed allowing for further expansion of the german armed forces.
"With President Trump now leading the U.S. it is uncertain if NATO can survive as it is entirely possible Trump might leave. If this were to happen we'd need a military large enough to protect us and the rest of NATO from any potential aggressors. It is also possible we might also use this expanded military to partake in peace keeping efforts around the world." Said Angela Merkel earlier today regarding the bill. They also urge other major NATO nations like France, the U.K., and Canada to consider contributing as well just in case the U.S. leaves.

[Calindelo]

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL NEWS

HEADLINES

---

Martial law a big success?

Photograph of a soldier monitoring traffic in the streets of Manila.

On January 21, 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte officially declared Martial Law on all Philippine territory.

The crime rate of the Philippines this week significantly decreased over 84% compared to last week's crime rate.

Even more drug users surrendered to the government because of the Martial Law, almost on par with the time President Duterte came into power.

READ MORE>>
By Jose Manalo

---

Martial Law in Mindanao

Police and Soldiers knocking on persons of interest's home

Soldiers and police officers has been entering people of interests houses since the declaration of Martial Law, arresting possible ISIL, MILF, or Abu Sayyaf members and supporters.

Using Interrogation on the arrested terrorists, the military have found various Bases of ISIL in Mindanao, even the location of high ranking terrorists.

Read More>>
By Wally Bayola

---

Related

Nazi Rally In Germany?
Read More>>

Mexican President Steps Down
Read More>>

Possible Treaty with Singapore?
Read More>>

[Republic of the Cristo]

Federal Tribal zone, North West Pakistan, Rahjei

The truck hopped up and down and down on the dirt road. A warm breeze swept in through the canvass top of the truck and doused itself over Naseem. He and two other men had been riding in the back of the canvass top truck for two hours, through the dirt and rural roads of the tribal areas of Pakistan.
Another bump and Naseem finally gave up on trying to nap. He had had his head in his hands and was trying to rest his eyes, but with all the bumps and jumps in the road with was useless. Naseem laid his head against the bar behind his head. He was tall, at about 6 feet, and had a young face - something in his early 20's. He had on a desert beige uniform with the stripes of a private. He was built in slim kind of way.

Until about a week ago Naseem had been apart of the 21st Balochi division, but since the redeployment of that division, he was informed by his platoon leader that he would be transferred over to the Karachi 3rd division. A train ride and five days in a tent camp later, he was in a truck headed towards the frontlines of the fight with the Taliban. Naseem was 20 years old and had been in the army for two years, and in that time he had never seen actual combat. He had been on the Indian border, were he would occasionally hear an explosion or two go off in the distance - exchange fire between the border forces. Naseem had only fired his weapon six times since exiting basic training.

He could now hear gunshots in the distance; not just scattered and occasional rifle shots, but constant and close machine gun fire. Naseem's heart was beginning to race, he had never been so close to combat before. Then truck was beginning to slow down, and from the back Naseem could see buildings popping up on the side of the road, then he began to see soldiers walking lines across the road. The truck turned a corner into the center of a mud brick village. Naseem could see a stationary tank from the back of the truck as it had turned the corner. There were bullet holes all up and down it's front. The truck then came to a sudden stop. Naseem's terror now reached it's height.

WIP

[Tysoania]

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

As the world around him shifted, John McCallum, the Canadian ambassador to China, sat on a quiet bench outside the Rideau Center, overlooking the Ottawa River. Navdeep Bains, the Minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency, was excitedly explaining the Prime Minister's extraterrestrial amibitions.

"And Trudeau wants us to eventually land on the Moon, or at least get a rover up there, just something Canadian, you know?"

"Yep", McCallum replied disinterestedly.

"And that means that they're joining to be readjusting their entire budget and putting a ton of funding in my ministry, because we've got all the space gear, but also because we're going to need launch facilities and research labs and tracking stations."

"Where's all the money coming from?", McCallum asked, his eyes not leaving a small bird that was lazily soaring just above the surface of the river. Seagull, probably; he couldn't tell from this distance.

"And, uh, that's where your name came up." Bains paused. "The Finance Minister suggested that we, uh, poke around in China and see if they would be interested, seeing as they already have the facilities."

"Yep."

"I suggested NASA, but they think Trump's going to stonewall Canada as much as Mexico. And seeing as we've already got the oil route to get some influence there, it should be a piece of...do they have cake in China?"

McCallum stood up. "Not our style of cake, from what I've seen. Maybe, though. I've never really asked that. So. Call the embassy in China and tell them to put together all the space files. And get an appointment with someone. Got it. Anything else?"

Bains remained sitting. "If they have cake, can you let me know? Also, tell me what their response is."

McCallum nodded and started heading back to the Parliament Buildings. He pulled out his phone and quickly told his secretary to get him an appointment at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. At his office, his assistants began pulling their space-related documents and compiling them into a summary for his perusal before his meeting with the head of the Chinese Embassy.

[Calindelo]

Armed Forces Of The Philippines
CLASSIFIED

---

Transcript of 13th AFP battalion in an "abandoned town"

1100 Hours

- "Agila 0-1, this is command, do you read? over."

- "Affirmative command, we hear you loud and clear."

- "We are detecting strange movement in that 4 floor house in your right, please advise. Possible insurgents."

- "Roger that command." *Inaudible Filipino words being told*

1110 Hours

*Weapon fire acquainted with moans and screams*

- "Bituin 0-1, do you copy?"

- "Bituin 0-1? Do you read?"

- "Command, this is Bituin 0-4, insurgents have ambushed us! I'm possibly the only survivor of my squad. I'm behind this... Taxi."

- "Affirmative, i'm sending Tigre team to your location. Do you know what group the insurgents are?"

- "Negative, Possibly ISIL. They ambushed us from this brick house, NE of the town hal--"

*Sound of a bullet zooming and a hard grunt*

- "Bituin 0-4? Bituin 0-4 do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?"

1120 Hours

*Weapon Fire*

- "Command! This is Tigre - 01, my men and Pulang Agila are pinned down by Durian Road, requesting artilery support!"

- " Affirmative Tigre actual, what are your coordinates?"

- "Pedro, ano coordinates natin!?"

- "Tigre actual, do you read?"

- "Our Coordinates are Classified, I repeat, Classified!"

- "Acknowledged, artillery E.T.A. 3 minutes."

1125 Hours

*Massive explosion*

- "Direct hit! We appreciate the support!"

- "Glad to be of service Tigre team."

- "Tango escaping! 10 o'clock!"

*Gunshots*

- " Tango down... And still breathing."

- " Looks like he knows some things, Command, permission to interrogate?"

- "Granted. But do not stray away from the main objective."

1230 Hours

- "Command, this is Tigre 0-1. We have extracted Intel from inmate."

- "Outstanding. Feel free to tell us at 1700 Hours. Casualty report?"

- "We lost the entire Bituin squad. And half of Pulang Agila. Other squads have no casualties. Enemy casualties range From 20 - 30."

- "Affirmative. Command out."

End of transcript