Security was tight. A contingent of neutral Nepalese Gurkha soldiers had been assigned to secure the room, and both the Americans and the Chinese had a contingent of their own agents to ensure a peaceful negotiation took place.
At 0830 hours, the American delegation entered the room and quickly sat down before organizing their paperwork and files. Five minutes later, the Chinese delegation joined them and likewise prepared themselves for the first meeting. A few adjustments were requested to the setup of the room from both sides, which took up a few minutes.
When the clock showed 0850 hours, Major General Tom Breedlove, who had been placed in charge of the staff function of the meeting, spoke into a handheld radio. “We’re ready to begin,” he said. His PLA counterpart did the same.
General Bennet, the five-star general and Supreme Military Commander of Allied Forces in Asia, entered the room, quickly followed by Secretary of Defense Jim Castle and Secretary of State Philip Landover. A minute later, General Yang Yin entered the room, along with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi.
When General Yang saw his former roommate, he did a double take. He was obviously caught completely off guard by the sight of the man who had once been his close friend. Then he brushed off the surprise and his face returned to a neutral expression. He took his seat, opposite General Bennet.
With the principles now seated, the meeting could begin. “General Yang Yin, I’m grateful that we are able to meet together to discuss this proposal in person,” said General Bennet. “As we have all said previously, it’s time for us to find a way to bring about an honorable end to this bloody war that has been consuming our planet.”
He paused after his opening remarks, then continued, “You and I are soldiers, General. We don’t have time or patience for politics. We demand results of our subordinates, and we execute the orders given to us by our political masters. I hope the two of us can dispense with some of these political pretenses and just get down to the business of ending this war.”
General Yang let a slight smile slip. Breedlove was happy to see that his old friend still appreciated the bluntness of the American generals.
Before Yang could respond, Minister Wang spoke first. “General Bennet, Secretary Castle and Secretary Landover — from President Xi, I would like to express his gratitude for agreeing to this private meeting in a neutral country. We agree with you in principle about bringing an end to this war, an honorable end that all parties can agree to. President Xi acknowledges that there are certain demands you’re going impose upon us. I’m here to listen to those demands and determine if the People’s Republic of China can accept them. If you will, can you please outline to us what the basic terms are for us to bring this war to an end, so we can begin the negotiation process?”
General Breedlove examined the faces of Minister Wang and General Yang. Although Wang had spoken first, he got the impression that he was just a face to the negotiation and that it was his friend who truly held any sway in this meeting.
Secretary Landover looked at his two colleagues briefly before he brought out a list of terms in both English and Chinese for everyone to read. The Chinese representatives quickly scanned the pages, murmuring softly to each other. It was clear from their motions to each other that some points were agreeable while others were going to cause a significant problem.
After they’d had a few minutes to review the bullet points, Secretary Landover said, “I believe the outline of the proposal is both fair and equitable, especially considering that it was China who first invaded Southeast Asia, then Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.”
Minister Wang vigorously shook his head. “The PRC cannot accept some of these terms,” he asserted.
“Please elaborate on which terms the PRC is not able to accept,” replied Landover. Bennet and Castle stayed silent, but Breedlove could see them eying General Yang for any indication of what he thought of the terms.
“The PRC can’t accept nuclear disarmament,” Wang pronounced. “We’ve maintained a small nuclear stockpile as a deterrent for generations, and we need that deterrent more than ever right now.”
Nodding his head, Landover wrote a couple of notes on the side of the document. “OK, we can come back to that point. Did you have another?”
Looking down at the document again, he added, “The PRC won’t give up the territorial gains we’ve made in Southeast Asia. Several of these nations were already communist countries, and many of them want to remain a part of Greater China.”
Major General Breedlove waited for the reaction to this point with interest. It would be difficult to get the PRC to give up control of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, and he knew from his perspective as a commanding general that the Allies were in no position to evict the Chinese from those countries, either.
“The people of Thailand and Singapore don’t wish to remain a part of Greater China,” Secretary of Defense Castle shot back. “These were democratically elected countries prior to your invasion, and they wish to return to that form of government.” He shot Wang an icy stare.
“This is getting good,” thought Breedlove, wishing he could sit back with a bag of popcorn and watch this with some friends.
“The Allies are in no position to remove us from these captured lands,” Minister Wang said sternly.
General Bennet chimed in. “You’re right, my forces are in no position to evict the PLA from those countries,” he admitted. Then he leaned forward. “However, my forces control Guangdong Province, Shanghai and the surrounding area, along with most of northern China. Even now, our forces are marshaling on Beijing. If you don’t want me to divide up your country, then you’ll concede some of these positions, Minister Wang.”
Bennet sat there staring at the foreign minister for a moment before Wang became uncomfortable and broke eye contact. Then General Bennet turned to look at General Yang, who had not said anything as yet.
Secretary Landover broke in. “You know where the Allies stand with ending this war — what are the terms President Xi is willing to accept?”
Wang smiled as he proceeded to pull a piece of paper out of his own briefcase. He handed English copies to the Americans and a copy in Chinese to General Yang, who quickly read it over. Yang raised an eyebrow at some of the points but still remained silent.
Landover and Castle shook their heads. Castle read the points aloud:
1) All Allied forces must withdraw from Chinese-occupied territory.
2) No Allied military facilities are to be built or leased in what is now formerly North Korea.
3) No Allied military facilities are to be built or leased on the Island of Formosa.
4) The PRC will retain all territorial gains made up to this point in the war.
5) The Allies will accept PRC territorial claims in the South China Sea.
6) All parties will agree to a cyber warfare détente and will not support or condone any state or non-state actors from carrying out cyberattacks against each other.
“Wow, those are some pretty ballsy requests,” General Breedlove thought. It was hard to stay quiet during this meeting.
Secretary Landover bristled. “These are the demands of a victor, not a nation that’s on the brink of collapse,” he said in a voice that verged on shouting. “Obviously, we won’t accept these terms.”