“This food cartel the West has formed is going to force us to play by their rules or they will simply cut off our food supply,” said Jing Xi.
Premier Jinping thought for a moment before responding, “Not only do we have to pay an artificially high value for the food that we used to buy from them, we have to reduce their debt by 5 % of the cost of that food. If our people were not starving right now, I would have half a mind to tell the Americans to go shoot themselves.”
Jing knew the Premier was angry and wanted to assure him that despite these slights by the Americans, all of this was still good for China. “At least they are paying back their debt; there was a time when we thought they were not going to. The value of the NAD is also rising quickly as their economy continues to improve.”
“Yes, but all the money we are making from them paying back their debt, we are just paying right back to them to buy food. Not only that — we are reducing their debt by 5 % with each purchase. At this rate, they will have the majority of their debt to China paid off in less than half a decade.”
“True, but the global economy should have improved significantly by then. Our factories are already returning back to life,” replied Jing.
“I believe that has more to do with the massive weapon and industrial goods sales to the Islamic Republic than anything else. I can’t help but wonder if we are supplying a future enemy with weapons that may one day be used against us.”
“One can never know these things. Right now it is a good business opportunity for us to pursue for the time being, and the Muslims have not been stirring or causing problems in our country so we should be thankful,” said Jing with a neutral face.
“Mark my words; if the Muslims even try to rise up in and revolt in China, I will not hesitate to crush them with the full weight of our military. I will absolutely not tolerate an Islamic uprising in China,” said the Premier with a determined look in his eyes.
“The bigger question is— ‘What is Russia doing?’ They have been building up their military to pre-Cold War levels,” said General Fan Changlong, the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
The Premier looked everyone at the table in the eye as he spoke. “Russia has always had an ax to grind against the Europeans. They have been invaded by Europe multiple times throughout history. Perhaps they feel Europe is in enough of a decline they can enact their revenge or vision of a unified Europe under Russian rule. In either case, it is not our vision or our problem.”
Jinping continued, “Our vision is for a unified Asia. Southeast Asia has always been the Rice Bowl of Asia; it has flatter lands and can handle our growing population. It is for this reason that we continue to build and train our forces to become the dominant force in the Pacific and push the Americans out.”
He paused, then asked, “What is the state of our military? Are we fully prepared for Operation Red Dragon yet?”
“As you know, the military has suffered like everyone else in China; however, our forces are still strong. The PLA stands at 3.5 Million troops, all ready to defend China. We still retain a very limited offensive capability, but we can more than defend our borders. As we continue to expand our light drone tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), we will be ready to secure Southeast Asia. We have three additional supercarriers under construction; once they are completed, it will bring our carrier force to six supercarriers and three smaller escort carriers,” General Fan Changlong said as he highlighted some images of the new supercarriers on the holographic display.
The General went on, “At that point, we will be ready to initiate Operation Red Dragon and destroy the American Pacific fleet should they try to intervene. We also have another 6 million troops in the reserves that can be called up if needed. Our current plan calls for us to activate 2 million of the reserves by the end of the year and begin to train and integrate them into our active army. By the end of 2040, our active duty force will consist of 5.5 million soldiers. A full 300,000 of our infantry will be equipped with the new exoskeleton suits. They will be our shock troops for the operation.”
The Director of State Intelligence, XI Lee, spoke up. “As long as we do not attack Taiwan, I believe we will be left alone if a conflict arises between Russia and the EU or with the Islamic Republic. With India still picking up the pieces from their last war, we do not need to worry about them as a possible threat to us either.”
“Our country is safe Premier, so long as we do not provoke a fight until our carriers are finished,” said Jing with confidence.
“Mr. President, I would like to speak with you about the deteriorating situation in the Stans and the Caucus region,” said General Gerasimov, the head of the Russian Military.
“I trust our grip on the region is not slipping?”
“No sir. General Putin continues to purge the region; however, we are seeing a rise in the number of insurgents and separatist activity (including weapon smuggling), particularly along the border with the Islamic Republic,” replied General Gerasimov.
“We have an envoy from the IR this week. I will speak with them and see what they can do to help shut down these smuggling routes. They want to discuss the issue of a joint military defense agreement,” said President Fradkov.
“That could be dangerous,” asserted Nikolai Bortnikov, the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Nikolai was another holdover from President Viktor Zubkov’s administration. President Fradkov had thought about replacing him, but was more scared of what would happen if he tried. Nikolai lived for the FSB, and though he had been part of the Zubkov administration, he was extremely loyal to Russia (if not President Fradkov). For that reason, the President had left him in power.
“In this we agree, Nikolai; the IR will at some point attempt to destroy Israel and continue the spread of Islam into Europe and America. They could entangle us into a fight sooner than we want, but they could also be a useful ally. If they do attack the Americans and we provide them with the best weapons possible, then they may be able to bloody the Americans enough that they would not be able to intervene in Europe when the time comes.”
“Likewise we can encourage and aid them in their activities in Europe. If the EU has to put down popular uprising in their major cities, they will not be able to react fast enough to an invasion,” said the President.
General Igor Gerasimov, the Head of Russian Military, interjected, “Whatever is agreed upon with the Islamic Republic needs to remain in line with our European objective. In all my years in the military, I have never seen the Americans at such a weak moment. President Stein knows this as well, and is taking remarkable steps to correct the situation, but he has time working against him. If the IR attacks Israel, the Americans will come to their aid. We need to ensure the IR has the training and equipment needed to deliver several major hits against the Americans. If they can weaken the Americans enough, they will not be able to intervene in Europe and stop us.”
Sergei Puchkov, the Minister of Defense, saw the President was weighing General Gerasimov’s comment and wanted to reinforce it. “Mr. President, the General is right. I propose that when the IR does attack the Israelis and Americans that we be ready to act. If the Chinese also act when we do, then the chances of success in Europe are incredibly high. They have been building their naval forces for decades in preparation for taking on the American Pacific Fleet. If we could coordinate with the Chinese to initiate their attack shortly after the IR moves, the Americans will be split between Asia and the Middle East. Then we will launch our attack in Europe. We could capture Europe in less than 60 days.”