Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [31]
With that, the background music played and the camera panned the panel before the fade-out.
As Clayton exchanged pleasantries with the other panelists, Wellington Crane left in a huff without a word to anyone. It had been one of the most humiliating experiences in his career, and he vowed right then and there that Clayton McCarty would pay dearly for his disrespect.
11
Beijing, China
18 September 2017
Wang Peng checked his watch as he hurried over to the chairman’s office following the emergency Politburo Standing Committee meeting. A 10:30 meeting with Lin Cheng did not mean 10:31. He tapped on the chairman’s door with two minutes to spare.
“Good morning, Peng, please come in,” said Lin Cheng. He seemed almost cheerful as he poured the obligatory tea.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman,” Wang replied, anxious to rehash the PSC meeting and consider the subsequent actions required.
“What did you think about the meeting today?” Lin asked with the casual tone of an elderly grandfather asking his grandson about his day in school.
“They were far more supportive of you today, Mr. Chairman, than they were following the Chunxiao Incident. They seemed pleased you were able to keep America from openly siding with Japan, and they liked the part about freezing Japan’s assets and expelling their ambassador. They also agreed with your United Nations strategy, and I thought that was significant.”
“It is important,” said Lin with a nod, “but the UN part will take a lot of work if we are to beat Japan to the punch. We’ll need to prepare a resolution for the UN Security Council condemning Japan for its territorial violation and demanding reparations for the loss of the Dragon II and lost oil production from the platform.”
“Do you have any thoughts on the reparations we should request?” Wang asked as he pulled up a new document on his laptop.
Thinking for a moment, Lin Cheng replied, “Let’s figure what the Dragon II would have produced in the time it will take us to float in another platform. Actually, Peng, I’m not as concerned with reparation amounts as I am in using Chunxiao as a springboard to a more favorable long-term strategic position.”
“You’re referring, of course, to the United Nations Law of the Seas Convention,” Wang replied.
“Yes,” replied Lin. “Until we can codify the 1982 UNCLOS protocols to once and for all establish and legitimize China’s Exclusive Economic Zone claims in the East and South China Sea; we’ll have ongoing conflicts like Chunxiao. This is the prize we most covet, Peng, not reparations.”
“Could you clarify for me, Mr. Chairman, why you have chosen to take our resolution to the UN Security Council rather than the General Assembly as we know Japan will do?” Wang knew the answer, but his boss always found it useful to verbalize his positions.
“That’s a question the Politburo failed to raise, Peng. The answer is that the real power lever in the UN is the Security Council, not the full General Assembly. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China can veto resolutions of a substantive nature. Japan is not a member and knows China could tie up their resolution in the Security Council for years with its veto power. They have little choice but to try an end-run in the General Assembly. China, on the other hand, has direct access to the Security Council, and we will exploit this structural advantage.”
Wang nodded in thoughtful admiration as the chairman continued.
“China will take its complaint directly to the UN Security Council, because it is the right place to request a security-based resolution like the one we’ll propose. In all likelihood, one or more of the Western powers will oppose it, but not until we’ve had a chance to air it. By doing so,