Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [17]
“The Prime Minister called it a matter of ‘grave concern,’” Cartright said. “His official story is that a Japanese destroyer inadvertently strayed into Chinese waters and was fired upon and sunk, along with two oil platforms, a drilling ship, and one other naval vessel. He said the Japanese destroyer heroically returned fire on China’s platform and sank it, but at considerable loss of Japanese lives. The Chinese reacted, he said, with disproportionate and excessiv force, and their actions have caused Japan to go to the highest military alert, including calling up reserves. Japan will freeze all Chinese assets, expel China’s ambassador, and petition the United Nations for condemnation of and full restitution from China.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Burkmeister said. “Let me pick up the story from there,”
“I received the expected phone call from Prime Minster Sato at eleven o’clock last night, and I just talked to Chairman Lin Cheng a few minutes ago. I was taken aback by the content and tone of both conversations—a flip-flop of the positions I had expected each to take.
“Prime Minister Sato began with a tirade on China. His story was pretty much along the lines of what Elizabeth reported, but I refrained from telling him that our intelligence confirmed the Harakaze intrusion as deliberate. He invoked the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation between our two countries and requested—almost demanded—our assistance in dealing with China. I asked him what he meant by ‘assistance,’ and he said it should include diplomatic and financial sanctions, naval support from the Seventh Fleet, and support for their case in the United Nations.” He checked his notes before continuing.
“I reminded him that the 1960 treaty had been more or less abrogated by Japan over the past fifteen years, starting with our expulsion from Okinawa. We were told in no uncertain terms by Japan then that they had a navy and armed forces and no longer wanted or needed American support. At that point, he suggested the United States sell Japan the amount of oil lost from their sunken platforms—as though we have an abundance of oil to export.” Burkmeister felt his temper rising as he recalled this part of the conversation with Sato.
“He then made a not-so-subtle threat that Japan might rethink its investments in American treasuries and other financial interests if we were not willing to fully back them as one of our oldest allies. Needless to say, that really burned me. But my official response was ‘Mr. Prime Minister, you have to do what is best for your country, just as I have to do what’s best for mine. For now, I simply can’t agree to your requests until we get more information and have had a chance to digest it.'” They all nodded in agreement as he continued.
“I suggested we might be of greater assistance to Japan by remaining neutral, as it would give us access to China—access that Japan no longer has. I also said we would bolster the Seventh Fleet to protect American interests in the area and asked that he keep me apprised of any new developments. It was not a pleasant conversation, and my sense was that Sato knew Japan was negotiating from a weak position and was trying to bluff his way into a better deal.”
Burkmeister paused, cleared his throat, took a large sip of water, and again felt a deep, stabbing pain in his stomach. He made a mental note to check this out with Doc Toomay right after the meeting.
“Surprisingly, my conversation with Chairman Lin Cheng had a conciliatory and collegial tone,” Burkmeister said, recovering from his spasm.
After briefing them on his conversation with Lin Cheng and chairing an intense hour of discussion, the president said, “All right, people, we need to wind this meeting down. Let me quickly summarize what I think we agreed upon: First, the United States will remain neutral