Dawn of the Tiger

by Gus Frazer

  Hudson listened, nodding calmly. He appeared to be absorbing what General Stephens had to say.

  ‘Prime Minister, Australia’s greatest and most potent line of defence is not our military, it is our environment and our geography. Let China in. Open the door and welcome them! Let the desert sort them out and make them realise that this is not an easy country to invade. Let’s use nature to our advantage. Then when they have been exhausted by the journey to our mines, we attack in a planned and organised fashion.’ General Stephens’ big frame was perched on the edge of the couch now, talking with more enthusiasm than he had intended so early in their meeting. He sat back to mirror the prime minister’s body language.

  ‘I see your point, General Stephens, and, if we didn’t have the Australian public to answer to, I would be inclined to implement this Cosgrove Response.’ Hudson now looked weary. Given the day he had been through, a man half his age would be feeling jaded.

  ‘But, sir, the Australian public cannot dictate military strategy. We have only one chance of defeating the Chinese. If we send our forces to the Gulf they will be annihilated. If we are smart and hold back, we have a chance of pushing them back to sea.’ Stephens could no longer hide his emotion. ‘Mr Prime Minister, I implore you not to send our forces to the Gulf. It will be the greatest mistake this country has ever seen.’

  Hudson raised his eyebrows, frowned and sat back. Immediately, General Stephens knew he had gone too far. He wanted desperately to convince the prime minister not to cobble together a head-on military defence, but this was not the way to do it.

  Hudson was eerily calm. ‘I know what you’re saying, General, but what’s right or wrong for this country will be determined by me and me alone. Thank you for your counsel, but I will be instructing General Draven to deploy our forces to the Gulf. I will not go down in history as the prime minister that let an invading army in the back door without putting up a fight. That will be all, General Stephens.’ he added brusquely.

  Excusing himself, General Stephens stood and walked to the door, his face flushed, hands shaking and body prickling from the sweat on his back.

  Opening the door he turned to Hudson. ‘You may be known as the prime minister who put up a fight, but you’ll also be known as the leader who signed the death warrant of thousands of young Australians.’

  Hudson just stared into the fireplace as General Stephens closed the door behind him.

  Seeing General Stephens coming out of the office, Lieutenant Sarah Dempsey strode over to him. ‘General, how did it go?’ she inquired, walking quickly to catch up with him as he strode down the hall.

  ‘Not well,’ replied General Stephens, not slowing his pace one bit.

  ‘So what’s his plan?’

  ‘He’s going to send our forces to certain death in a pointless and doomed exhibition of defence,’ said General Stephens.

  ‘Jesus, what are you going to do?’ asked Dempsey.

  ‘Get me Fletch, Colonel Main and Connor Adams. I want to see them at my house tonight. They need to be briefed on what’s happening.’

  ‘Right away, sir.’

  At that same moment in Beijing, Chairman Yun was on the Virtucon to Ambassador Xian.

  ‘Yes, Mr Chairman, my family is safely out of the country and, of course, I will stay and do my duty. It is the Chinese-Australians that I am concerned for right now. They are likely to be targeted by racist groups within Australia.’

  ‘Yes, I know. It is regrettable, but there is little we can do for them. They are, after all, not our citizens. We must rely on Australian law enforcement to protect them,’ replied Chairman Yun.

  ‘Sir, the Australian law enforcers are the ones Chinese-Australians should fear the most. Corruption and violence in the state police services is rampant.’

  ‘Regardless, they are not our concern. And anyway, any brutality on the part of Australian authorities will only reinforce our stance that China has no intention to cause harm to any civilians.’

  ‘Yes, Mr Chairman.’

  ‘And how has Hudson taken the news of our plan?’

  ‘He has reacted exactly as we expected, Mr Chairman. He is utterly unprepared for this. In all likelihood, he will try to pit his army against ours in a reactive show of might. He will lose. He is not a concern.’

  ‘Good. These next three weeks will be the toughest of your career, Xian, but you will be rewarded greatly for your service,’ said Chairman Yun.

  ‘Thank you, Mr Chairman. To serve is enough,’ replied Xian.

  After the holographic image of Xian disappeared, Chairman Yun turned to his war cabinet, seated around a large oval table.

  ‘This morning, Australia woke to a new dawn, the dawn of the tiger. Our ascension to primacy of the Pacific region is nearly complete. The future of our great nation is secured and our people will prosper for the next hundred years. This is a truly great day in our long history.’

  With that, he ordered them to leave the room. He was overcome with a feeling of exhausted triumph and wanted to be alone. If he were ever to feel his 72 years, it would be on a day like this. The stress of the last two years had worn him deep to the bone. He had presided over China for 10 long years and he knew he did not have the energy to continue for much longer.

  Wrestling the top button on his shirt loose, he let out an audible sigh, slumping back in his chair. The invasion of Australia had been in planning for over two years. When the Australian people elected James Hudson, a man who knew nothing of the military realities of the world, it was a stroke of unbelievable luck. The carefully orchestrated tensions between India and China had all been part of the ruse to keep Australia at ease, unsuspecting of any threat. The building of enormous troop carriers had been carried out 10 years ago when China was ready to go to war with Korea over manufacturing and production infrastructure. The war had been averted when the Korean Government capitulated to China’s demands, enabling Chinese corporations to create enormous factories in Korea, using cheap local labour. After decades of Chinese people being exploited for cheap labour, China was now exploiting others.

  While the world looked on as China antagonised India and threatened invasion, China was creating a massive army and navy force that would set out from China under the guise of an Indian invasion. The reality was that India and China were working together. India, under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, was finding it difficult to secure uranium for its defences and energy program. They were happy to play along with China and create a guise of fictional tension. China was happy to agree to generous terms of sale for uranium once they had control of the mining industry. The ruse worked. By the time Australia realised what was happening, it was too late.

  The Chinese military strategists had planned for almost every conceivable response to the invasion. They knew that the Australian military was in no position to mount a serious defence. They knew that there was little Australia or her allies could do. Their closest and oldest ally, New Zealand, had long ago given up the idea of a serious defence force. America, the strongest ally, had committed the vast bulk of her military resources to the Middle East. What forces remained were preoccupied by the growing tensions in the Arctic Circle around Alaska and Northern Canada. The recent polar ice melts due to global warming had made it possible to survey more of the Arctic region and vast oil reserves had been discovered between the Baffin and Beaufort Seas. This, and the fact that the waterways were now clear of ice, made the area a geopolitical minefield. America, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Norway and the UK were embroiled in a legal and military battle, the likes of which had never been seen before. And, once again, the cause of the conflict was natural resources. With the world in such a state, Australia could hardly rely on help from an international group, like the now-defunct UN — it was a perfect sitting duck.

  China’s strategists had considered all these factors and it was deemed that an invasion of Australia had an extremely high probability of success. Naturally, they had considered simply purchasing natural
resources in other countries such as in West Africa. Iron ore was not a scarce resource, but China was after a large supply they could control. Economically, it was calculated to be more efficient for China to invade Australia and, strategically, it was an adroit move.

  Control of resources was a key component in their strategy to control the Asia-Pacific region. Before China could effectively challenge the US to primacy in the region, they had to control the flow of natural resources back to the mainland.

  For Chairman Yun it was as if the stars had aligned and he was given a blessing to invade Australia and thus secure his country’s future growth. Taking control of Australia’s key mines would be his swansong, a memorial to his years in power that would resonate throughout China, and the world, for decades if not centuries. Chairman Yun’s plan was to publicly retire from politics after the Chinese controlled transportation of Australia’s iron ore. Right now, sitting in the darkened situation room, heavy with exhaustion, Yun prayed that it would be over sooner rather than later.

  It was nearly 1 am in Canberra. The lights of General Stephens’ house were all on. Inside, he was sitting in his old brown Chesterfield chair. It was deep, soft and the leather was worn by time. Like the rings inside a tree trunk, every mark indicated a different time in his family’s history, for this chair had been his father’s and his father’s before him. Normally, he felt comfortable and relaxed in the chair. But not tonight. Tonight he was tense and apprehensive. He felt uncomfortable in every position, agitated by the recent events and what was weighing on his mind.

  He was remembering the Mineral Wars in Africa, which had started 14 years before. A much more complicated situation than the one he was currently dealing with, Russia, the UK and India had all been involved. The UK supported the African countries, while Russia and India aggressively sought to control the gold mines of Ghana and the uranium mines in Namibia. He’d been sent out to fight with the British soldiers and aid in the defence of the Namibian mining region called the Uranium Corridor. He’d been based at a city called Swakopmund on the coast, which was completely destroyed by the Indian invasion, forcing all the civilians to flee. British and Australian forces had to regain control of Swakopmund as it was the gateway to the uranium corridor. Lost in thought, Stephens tried to summon experiences that could help him now.

  Sitting beside him was his Chief of Staff and closest friend, General Simon Fletcher. They had known each other for over 20 years. Fletch had served with him in Afghanistan and Iraq when the Americans went in to secure their oil early in the century, and through the Mineral Wars. If there was one man General Stephens could trust, it was Fletch. He had proven his worth on the battlefield more than once.

  A car pulled up on the gravel driveway. ‘I think that’s Sarah now,’ said General Stephens, standing to look out the window. Sure enough, he recognised her trim figure striding towards the house, long dark-brown hair flying in the cool night air.

  Sarah Dempsey opened the front door without knocking, followed by Colonel Main and Connor Adams.

  ‘Good evening. Thanks for coming at such short notice and at this hour,’ said Stephens, greeting his visitors.

  ‘Don’t mention it,’ said Colonel Main, shaking Stephens’ hand. ‘I assume it’s of the utmost urgency.’

  ‘It absolutely is,’ replied the general. ‘It’s good to see you, Connor,’ said Stephens as he reached for his hand. Having retired from politics a year ago, Connor Adams was enjoying life outside the machinations of parliament. He had been Minister of Defence for a number of years and understood military strategy, but also had a head for politics. His connections in Canberra were vast. There were few people in government circles who didn’t know of Connor Adams, and even fewer that Connor didn’t know of or have dirt on.

  Once seated in the lounge, General Stephens began, ‘Gentlemen, you all know Lieutenant Sarah Dempsey’. He gestured to her, sitting in the corner of the room. ‘She is my aide and I trust her implicitly, so feel free to speak your minds. What is said in this room stays in this room. I have called you all here today because I trust you and I need your help.

  ‘At this very moment China is beginning the deployment of some 150,000 troops from a naval fleet positioned in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The prime minister has been in diplomatic discussions with Ambassador Xian, trying to work out a peaceful resolution, but it is clear China has no intention of compromising.’ General Stephens took a deep breath. ‘The Chinese have stated their intentions very clearly. They wish to take control of our mining infrastructure in South Australia to procure the natural resources that will feed their growing economy. They are not interested in our cities, culture, workforce or way of life. In fact, they are imploring Australians not to fight, but to remain in the cities and towns living their life like nothing was wrong.’

  ‘Jesus, who do they think they are? Or, more to the point, who do they think we are?’ interjected Fletch.

  ‘Indeed,’ said Adams, ‘but they’re smart the Chinese. They know that both America and the United Kingdom are embroiled in their own problems much closer to home that are sapping their military resources. They know that our military forces have been scaled back severely and are not optimised for defence, not of this size. We have automated most of the defence practices; unmanned drones patrolling the coast and fishing waters; satellite surveillance of our region, and now the defence force has nearly as many people in office buildings as there are in combat-ready bases. We thought we were being smart about defence. Turns out we were extremely naive.’ His face was ashen.

  General Stephens caught and held his stare. ‘Adams, don’t for a minute think this is your fault. No one saw this coming and given the budget cuts back in the twenties, the protocols you developed are absolutely first-rate. You did the best you could with what you had.’

  The look on Connor’s face said it all. ‘I should have pushed back harder. We made the wrong call on defence spending. Once we spent two per cent of GDP, then we dropped it to one per cent — when we should have been at five or six per cent.’

  ‘At the time it seemed like the right thing to do,’ said Stephens.

  ‘I knew in my gut that it wasn’t right, but how do you argue against better hospitals and schools in favour of submarines and planes?’

  ‘You don’t, and we didn’t. So here we are, and we need to do something,’ replied Stephens calmly.

  ‘So General, what’s Hudson’s plan to address the situation in the Gulf?’ asked Main, trying to move the conversation on for Adams’ sake.

  ‘Hudson, in all his wisdom, is planning to send the bulk of our military forces to the Gulf immediately,’ responded Stephens. ‘He and Draven have developed a plan to mobilise our naval, air and infantry forces in a combined attack on the Chinese in the Gulf. It’s my view that this is tantamount to military suicide.’ The general surveyed the room and continued. ‘He is planning to send our men and women into a battle they are not prepared for, either strategically, physically or psychologically. Our forces have never been trained for this sort of attack. The Chinese have obviously planned this for some time. They will massacre our forces. And for what? For a public display of defence by our nation’s esteemed leader. It’s criminal.’

  ‘More like a public display of stupidity,’ said Fletch.

  ‘This is beyond stupidity,’ said Adams. ‘He is sealing our fate. Once the initial defensive action is overcome, there will be nothing to stop the Chinese from marching down to South Australia and taking control of our mines. Once they have established themselves and their defensive lines, with our military destroyed, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible to get them back out.’

  ‘And this is precisely why I have asked you all here tonight,’ said General Stephens. ‘I cannot sit by and watch a mistake of these proportions be made. Hudson is simply not capable of leading Australia through this mess. I propose a coup. Oust Hudson — and I will take control of the country until we get the Chinese out.’

  The
words hung in the air as the others absorbed what he was suggesting. Fletch and Colonel Main both leaned back as if recoiling from what Stephens had just said. Adams was noticeably unsettled, putting his hand to his mouth. Everyone in the room stared at General Stephens.

  ‘I suggest you never repeat what you just said ever again, Martin,’ said Adams, staring directly into General Stephens’ eyes. ‘What you are suggesting is not only treasonable — it’s morally reprehensible. Furthermore, by telling us you have put us all in a highly compromised position. It is only that I am now retired that I’m not bound to report you to the federal police.’

  Main spoke slowly. ‘You’re saying you want to usurp the prime minister? At a time when the nation is being invaded by an aggressive and mobile Chinese army?’

  General Stephens was calm but certain of what needed to happen. It was as if hearing his own words out loud helped confirm his belief. ‘I’m saying we’re going to war being led by a prime minister who is not capable of making the decisions that will see this country guided to safety.’

  ‘I can see where you’re coming from Marty, but don’t you think it’s too soon to be considering this sort of action?’ said Fletch diplomatically, still trying to work through the implications of what Stephens had just suggested.

  ‘No, I don’t. Time is one commodity we don’t have in abundance. Once the Chinese destroy our army we won’t be able to do anything to expel them,’ replied General Stephens.