Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 03 (61 page)

           
“I think that would be an important
consideration,” Tang said, “except for Jose Samar’s rebel forces. President
Teguina maintains, and my government agrees, that a ceasefire will only allow
the rebels to consolidate their position and stage more and deadlier attacks on
innocent citizens. We have tried to negotiate with
Samar
, with no success—we have even sent envoys
to
Guam
to attempt to talk with
Samar
there. He will not speak with us. He ties
our hands . . .”

           
“Your military forces are much more
powerful than his,” Kellogg observed. “You have nearly a hundred warships in
the south
Philippines
alone; your forces outnumber his ten to
one. It’s reasonable to assume he’s afraid of being crushed to death by the
sheer size of your forces.”

           
“A cease-fire has to be made in the
spirit of cooperation and fairness,” Tang said. “We will hold our present
positions and stop all new troop additions if
Samar
agrees to withdraw his forces and come to
the bargaining table.”

           
“You must withdraw your forces from
the
Philippines
first . . .”

           
“We are in the Philippines by
invitation
of the legitimate President,”
Tang Said calmly. “We need not deal with rebel leaders such as
Samar
, or for that matter with the American
government ...”

           
“
Samar
is also a member of the Philippine
government,” Danahall said pointedly.

           
“I understand
Samar
has been brought up on charges of treason
and corruption by the government,” Tang said. “He has been stripped of his authority
until his trial—z/he ever surrenders himself to justice ...”

           
“The
United States
does not recognize the Teguina government,
because we have no evidence that President Arturo Mikaso is dead,” Cesare said.
Tang shifted his interlaced hands slightly, as if gesturing that, yes, Mikaso
was really dead. “Can you confirm Mikaso’s present situation? Is he dead?”

           
“I cannot confirm that, sir . . .”

           
“If you cannot confirm it, we will
not recognize Teguina’s presidency,” Danahall said. “In which case the constitution
is still valid and
Samar
has equal power and authority as Teguina .
. .”

           
“
Samar
appears to be fleeing from justice—he is
acting like a common criminal,” Tang said. “He is hiding in the jungles, he
refuses to speak with his own government, he is inciting the people to revolt.
Stories I have heard say that he has the backing of several Islamic terrorist
organizations to help him win the presidency by violence. How can the
United States
back such a man?”

           
Those rumors about the terrorist
groups, unfortunately, were true—several Moslem terrorist groups had pledged
themselves to
Samar
to help him overthrow the Chinese, the
Americans, and the
Manila
government. It was a major source of
embarrassment for President Taylor right now. But Danahall replied, “
Samar
is understandably in fear for his life,
especially with Chinese troops in
Manila
. He is not in hiding; he is en route to
Guam
under the protection of the
U.S.
government until this matter can be
resolved.

           
“I think the best option right now
is for all foreign troops to get out of the
Philippines
and leave that government to itself. If we
can have reasonable assurances that the will of the people is being done and
that peace is being restored, then we will not object to any further Chinese
incursions. But the
United States
regards the current level of Chinese
military involvement as an invasion, and we are now in a position to stop it.
Will the Chinese pull out of the
Philippines
?”

           
Tang made a few notes in a small
notebook. “I will deliver your query to my government,” the ambassador said,
“along with your earlier statements and concerns.” Tang then closed his
notebook, as if signaling an end to their meeting; it had lasted only a few
minutes.

           
“Have you any messages from your
government, Mr. Ambassador?” Secretary Danahall asked. “Does your government
simply request that the world allow you to occupy the
Philippines
with large military forces? Or do you want
nothing more than to be a willing mercenary for Daniel Teguina’s first coup?”

           
“We are not seeking conquest, only
stability for my country,” Tang said. “We see the unrest in the
Philippines
as extremely injurious to Chinese trade,
foreign relations, and social and political stability in our own country. As
you know, gentlemen, the
Philippines
has many ethnic Chinese in its population,
as well as loyal supporters of the world socialist movement, all of whom have
suffered in past years. If we fail to support Communist leaders overseas and
allow those with common beliefs and heritage to be slain and dominated by
others, how would my government appear in the eyes of its own people?”

           
Danahall, Cesare, and Kellogg
refrained from replying or voicing their outrage at Tang’s flamboyant,
rhetorical remarks. Finally, after all these weeks of waiting, all these days
of threats of military conflict, the Chinese were going to get around to their
demands—it would not be useful at this point to interrupt, no matter how
offbeat or disagreeable his words were.

           
“We are also very concerned about
other problems in the
South
China Sea
region,
namely the dispute over the
Spratly
Islands
and
Palawan
.
China
has claimed possession of those islands for
hundreds of years; we feel we have the right to develop those islands,
all
of those islands, as we see fit. The
current inequitable division of the
Spratly
Islands
will no doubt cause much bloodshed in the
future.

           
“The Philippine
island
of
Palawan
also once belonged to
China
, as evidenced by the large number of ethnic
Chinese living there.” Tang paused knowingly, making eye contact with the
Americans before him, and said, “If Chinese claims to the
Spratly
Islands
and
Palawan
could be resolved in a way favorable to all
concerned, perhaps a way might be found to avert disaster and bloodshed.”

           
So that was it, Danahall thought:
China
wanted the
Spratly
Islands
and
Palawan
.

           
Danahall and his staff had had to do
some serious cramming in recent days to reacquaint themselves with those two
island chains that
China
seemed ready to go to war over. And,
historically, Tang was right—several hundred years ago, before European
explorers ventured to the Orient in large numbers, Chinese merchantmen,
fishermen, and refugees did populate most of the islands in the
South China Sea
, including the Spratlys and most of the
Philippines
. Like the Spratlys,
Palawan
had been occupied and claimed by many
Asian, Polynesian, and European nations over the centuries. At least a dozen
countries had claims for these rugged, dangerous islands.

           
But all that was rather ancient
history. China might have a fairly solid claim to the Spratly Islands—which
they had already reportedly traded to Vietnam, at least for the time being—but
whether they had any modem claim to Palawan was another thing entirely. What
possible use
China
had for
Palawan
was a mystery to Danahall. The island was
mountainous, sparsely populated, and useless as a shipping or trading port
because of its proximity to the “Dangerous Ground,” the shallow waters of the
South China Sea
, so hazardous to commercial freighters. It
might make a strategic air-base location from which to threaten islands and
waters belonging to other ASEAN countries, but even that was doubtful. Was this
some sort of new manifest destiny for
China
—or a cover for something else . . . ?

           
“I think negotiations over these two
areas of concern are important and can be implemented immediately, Mr.
Ambassador,” Secretary Danahall said. “Of course, other affected nations will
have to participate—and an immediate cessation of all hostilities must be
declared ...”

           
“If that can include
Samar
and his Moslem rebel militia, I agree
wholeheartedly, Mr. Secretary,” Tang replied.

           
“I think we can be helpful in
securing Vice President Samar’s cooperation,” Frank Kellogg said, “but it would
be a waste of time to try to begin negotiations without first calling for an
immediate cease-fire and a pullback of all forces . . .”

           
“If we can receive assurances that
your naval and air forces will not try to fortify or assist the
Samar
rebels, and promise not to attack any
Chinese forces at any time, a cease-fire might be possible. But it would be
supercilious for us to abandon our agreement with President Teguina and simply
leave him alone and unprotected without first guaranteeing that his government
will remain intact during our negotiations. Now, if
Samar
’s rebel forces would give up their hold on
the city of
Davao
and the
Samar
International
Airport
, perhaps my government would be more
amenable to encouraging a dialogue with the Philippine government.”

           
This time all the Americans paused.
They were afraid this might happen. Promising not to attack Chinese forces was
no problem—the President didn’t want to do it in any case— but they knew that
Davao was the last pin keeping the Philippines from falling apart. If
Samar
’s people abandoned the city, the
Philippines
would fall forever—if not to the Chinese,
then to Teguina’s Communists.
Samar
might
be a Moslem, but he also believed in a unified
Philippines
. It was obvious that Teguina believed in
nothing but himself and his power. Tang was asking assistance from the
U.S.
government to destroy the last obstruction
to total domination by the Communists.

           
“I think that discussion can wait
for more detailed negotiations between our representatives,” Danahall said— he
didn’t want to encourage him with even a veiled “maybe,” but he didn’t want to
indicate that it was out of the question, either. “We’re getting ahead of
ourselves here. Let’s get our respective governments to agree on an immediate
cease-fire first...”

           
But Tang recognized Danahall’s
hesitation and had obviously concluded that the Americans would agree to
nothing here. ‘.‘Why do you support this Moslem Samar?” Tang asked. “He is
nothing but a rabble-rouser. He is a definite hindrance to peace, Mr.
Secretary. He is not deserving of your country’s support.”