[War] Australia: No Dice With The Chinese

[Daniel Sanderson]

OOC: THought I better reply before I go away. Hopefully someone can clear it up for me (the whole Iran thing)

IC:

"No Dice With The Chinese"
Prime Minister Jack Decker
Commonwealth Of Australia
June 28, 2014

The Australian Army S-70 Blackhawk touched down on a helicopter pad as close to Circular Quay as they could get. Two New South Wales Police cars were waiting, along with an unmarked sedan. Decker stepped out, ducking from the slowing blades of the chopper. He got into the sedan just as his mobile phone rang.

"Decker."

"It's Joanna. We had a reply from the Chinese...it's not great." She went on to repeat what the reply stated.

Decker sighed. Damn. All it took was the wrong choice of certain words and look what happened. 

"Ok, try this for a reply. Madame President, thank you for your kind words, and the same applies, if you need any help, ask our Ambassador. The use of the word 'alliance' was perhaps misplaced. I assure you, Madame President, that Australia is highly concerned, and deplores, the Iranian action against Azerbaijan, and it's continued aggression across the board. I have, at this stage, seen intelligence from the United States, Canada, and our own investigation, and I don't doubt that the information is more concrete then that leading up to the 2003 Invasion. I was totally against the invasion myself, and to compare that to today is like blaming your government today for the actions of past governments. Precedent has been set, but it is a dangerous, world-destabilizing precedent that should be thrown out." He paused for a moment.

"However, you have made it perfectly clear that I have no position to ask anything of you. After all, our relationship is only one of 'mutual convenience'. I do wonder where the Chinese industrial and manufacturing industries would be without Australian resources..." Decker sighed. "Scratch the last two sentences. Clean that up, and send it off."

"Ok."

Decker hung up as the police cars rolled to a stop. He climbed out, and looked around. It didn't take long to figure out what had happened. One of the ferries had crossed the harbor, and docked at Circular Quay. As the people got off to head off to work, or to see the tourist attractions of the Quay, and the Opera House, someone had waded into the crowd and blown themselves up. The fifteen dead must have been close, and insulated the rest of the crowd, to a degree.

"Jack!"

He saw the New South Wales Premier, Brian Chapman, walking over to him. Chapman, a former union leader, government staffer and then New South Wales Parliamentarian.

"Brian." Decker said, shaking the man's hand. "How's progress?"

"Fine. Everything is being sealed off for evidence, that's the main reason there's still so much activity. All the injured have been taken to hospital, there's some Navy Clearance Divers going through the area before the Police have a look around." The Navy's Clearance Divers were Explosive Ordinance Disposal experts.

"Numbers?"

"Fifteen dead in the original blast. Three have died in hospital from their wounds, twenty-seven are still being tended to. How are you feeling?" Brian asked. The PM looked drained.

"Whole damn world's coming apart at the seams." Decker said as he looked out over Circular Quay. "They hit us, China, the US, UK, and Canada. Attacking China was the worst thing, it's like those responsible crept up behind the Red Dragon and booted it up the arse."

"They're going to start spewing flame?"

"Yeah." Decker replied. Brian led him towards the Police command post, but Decker's mind was a million miles away. If Australia had a military power like China or the US, would he have followed President Xia's forces into Tehran? He had run on a platform of Australia playing a bigger part in world affairs, but now he felt like the little kid jumping up and down to get attention, and being ignored.

But he had the forces in the area. Troops, ships and aircraft forward deployed to bases in Turkey and the Gulf, to support the western mission into Azerbaijan...

Could he do it? Could Jack Decker become the Prime Minister who, instead of waiting for the US or UK to act, backed the Chinese move?

He took his mobile back out of his pocket, and called Admiral Tom Bains, head of the Australian Defence Force.

"Admiral, it's Jack Decker. Listen, I want you to, as quick as you can, punch out a plan for a possible retaliation against Iran using our forces in the area."

"Has President Williams contact you sir?"

"No Admiral. I've been in touch with President Xia...just get me a plan...for me to mull over."

"Aye sir." The Admiral said, a little uneasily.

Decker hung up the phone, and stood silently for a moment, until he realized the New South Wales Police Commissioner was waving him over to where the Clearance Divers had just returned.

--ACTIONS TAKEN--

1. Reply to the Chinese cable
2. PM inspects the bomb site
3. PM considers his options


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