Chinese Government Looks to Make Up for Tanoan Transgressions
In the wake of the unprovoked attack by rogue Chinese General Shoushan on U.S. and Australian forces during 2016’s Rim of the Pacific military exercises, or RIMPAC, it now seems like the Chinese are doing their best to save face.
The Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army (or PLA), deployed once again to the Horizon Islands earlier this month. With the approval of the U.N. and under strict U.S. supervision, the PLA deployed a small peacekeeping force to the island of Tanoa, where most of the fighting between U.S. Marines and rogue Chinese troops was concentrated. Under the command of Major General Zheng Shian, Chinese Engineers are to aid local authorities in restoring vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways, and communication facilities damaged during the 2016 RIMPAC incident.
Abroad, critics of the Chinese ruling Communist party openly wonder about the party’s intentions by sending General Shian to Tanoa. Previously stationed in garrisons in Hong Kong and Macau, the General is a known moderate, and while not an open critic of the Party, he has never been as enthusiastic as Party loyalists. During a recent military crackdown on protests in Hong Kong, Shian’s troops were slow to mobilize and much less aggressive than troops from mainland China.
U.S. and U.N. officials state that the Chinese force is there to provide engineering competence to civilian infrastructure and assist in keeping the peace. It is a force with very limited combat capabilities and is intended to act as a deterrent to the recent increase in bandit and pirate activity on Tanoa and the surrounding islands. U.S. special operations forces in the islands are meanwhile committed to stamping out the threat posed by these bandits while the Chinese troops will take menial patrol and guard duty off their shoulders.
Chinese military engineers make repairs to a railway crossing damaged during the RIMPAC incident.
Questions as to the true nature of China’s reasoning for being in Tanoa once again continue to fly. It remains to be seen whether General Shousan was truly rogue, or the party threw him under the bus. These questions and undoubtedly many more will only be answered with time. China’s bullish ambitions in the South Pacific and further overseas may have been tempered momentarily by General’s Shousan’s war, but it is clear that China intends to continue the path from regional to global power.
Simon Tam - Grand Central Times
This article is a work of fiction, intended to support the storyline of the 3d MRB Arma 3 realism unit.
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