Dragon Fire

China World Hotel, Beijing, China

‘The passing of the legislation we can ignore,’ said Jamie Song. ‘But if the celebrations go ahead, we will have to move in.’

‘What do you mean, “move in”?’ asked Reece Overhalt. The two men were standing on the balcony again, a sign from the Foreign Minister that the conversation was not being recorded.

‘Reece, that is out of my hands. The military run our military strategy on Taiwan. When they take it over, I will be watching it on BBC and CNN just like you.’

‘Give me your best- and worst-case scenarios, then.’

‘Best case, we will have tests with DF-15 or some such short- or medium-range missile like we did during the presidential elections in 1996. Medium case is that we’ll do that and blockade the Straits of Taiwan, throwing a cordon around the island, but not firing a shot unless attacked. Worst case is that we’ll send a missile into the Parliament building as they’re passing the independence legislation. Now tell me, what will John Hastings do?’

‘They’re sending the Harry S. Truman down from the Sea of Japan. We’ve got fighter crews on high alert in Okinawa. And that’s about it. If you can hold off, we can hold off. We can handle the missile tests. The blockade would give us all room for negotiation and if no one wants war, it won’t happen. If you send in a missile, I guess we’ll have to knock out your missile bases. But like you, Jamie, that’s not a threat. It’s a guess from a non-executive ambassador.’

Jamie Song shook his head. ‘I’ll pass that on to my president, Reece. But I’m not sure even he will be in control of the Taiwan conflict. The military will not let Taiwan go.’