Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [164]
“That’s good, Elizabeth, and your constant updates were helpful to us all. Can you give me a quick rundown on where we stand as of this moment? I’m heading off to a cabinet meeting in fifteen minutes, so it will have to be brief.”
“Sure, Mr. President. As I had indicated in an earlier report, China, like us, is about to feel the full impact of the oil embargo as their strategic petroleum reserve runs dry. It’ll be a shock to the system that’s sure to shake up the Politburo, and Lin Cheng is worried.”
“I can appreciate that,” replied the president, sounding alarmed. “We’re also tapped out; in about another ten days we will no longer have any SPR oil left to draw down. It’s going to put a brutal hurt on our economy.”
“On a brighter note, Mr. President, Lin Cheng was most grateful for your willingness to take an aggressive position in support of China’s resolution to change the exclusive economic zone definitions in the UN later this month. He really bent over backward to be accommodating.”
“That’s good to hear, and I was pleased he gave you a little ammunition to take with on your subsequent visit to Prime Minister Sato in Tokyo. How did that go?”
“Yes, he was gracious, Mr. President. Lin Cheng’s offer to drop all reparation demands against Japan on Chunxiao and China’s willingness to work out a fifty-fifty split on all oil and natural gas generated from the Chunxiao field, regardless of where it fell under the new EEZ definitions, went a long way toward mollifying Sato. Still, Sato said he would agree not to vigorously oppose the new EEZ definition only if the United States would provide strong assurances that Japan’s oil supply, to the extent oil is available, will be maintained.”
“That’s a tougher proposition,” the president replied, concerned, “but I’m sure we can at least offer a strong statement of our intent to do what we can to help Japan.”
“I think he understands our dilemma,” Elizabeth replied. “He offered an accurate assessment of our depleted SPR reserve and had no illusions about what that will mean in terms of our ability to help Japan. Still, their energy situation has never fully recovered from the 2011 tsunami and nuclear meltdown, and he’s looking for help in other energy supply areas such as coal, liquid natural gas, and uranium. I told him we would have more wiggle room to help in these areas.”
“That’s good,” the president responded, relieved, “I assume that there have been no second thoughts from those countries since you left them. Will South Korea and Australia aggressively back us on our EEZ position, or will we get only lip service?”
Elizabeth pulled open the window shade with her free hand, capturing more of the glorious sunlight, before answering.
“Australia certainly will. As one of China’s major trading partners, they’ll do what they can to accommodate China. They’re far more concerned with Mustafa and the disastrous effects his embargo is having on the global economy. Australia is almost at a point where they would favor an attack on Mustafa, thinking he couldn’t take out all of his oil fields—figuring that having even a few Saudi oil fields in production is far better than what we have now.”
“How about South Korea?” the president asked.
“South Korea will go along with China’s EEZ definition, but only if China leaves open South Korea’s fishing rights in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Further, they want to negotiate directly with China to have them put a muzzle on North Korea. Frankly, I’m not totally sure what that means at this point.”
Elizabeth paused, realizing she had been doing all the talking. After an awkward silence, the president said, “I don’t know how your Pacific Rim trip could have gone any better, Elizabeth, but nice job. Will you have any time to enjoy the Hawaiian sun before your return?”
“Very little, Mr. President,” she replied tiredly. “I’ll be filling in for Thurmond Thompson at a dedication ceremony on the base in a little while, and I hope to catch a couple hours of sun before our