Dragon Fire

Prime Minister’s Office, Canberra, Australia

‘The squad will comprise two Australians, two New Zealanders, two Malays and the rest will be British. It will be under British command. All those involved have trained with the Special Boat Squadron. Our men have also spent time with the American navy SEALS.’

‘The Malaysians are on board?’ the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Smith, asked his Defence Minister, Keith Backhurst.

‘They were very keen. The men have no identification and will be carrying a cyanide capsule in case of capture. I think some of it is one-upmanship over Singapore’s refusal to take part.’

Smith laughed. ‘All right. Let’s do it.’

‘There’s one other piece of house-keeping we should wrap up at the same time,’ said Backhurst. ‘The Chinese also have a SIGINT site around Ban Sop Bau in Laos. It was used to monitor Vietnam, but since those hostilities have quietened down, they concentrate on picking up traffic between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. If we take it out, Australia will lead with the Thai and Filipino Special Forces. A unit left the peace-keeping force in Timor for Darwin yesterday and is about to arrive in Bangkok.’

‘You are keen to do this?’

‘The Timor campaign in 1999 was a turning point for many of us, Prime Minister. It was the first time we risked open hostility with an Asian neighbour in order to achieve a greater aim. People died, but strategically and politically it worked. There is a sense that we must take charge of our own security and the expansion of China is a key element of this.’