JAPAN SHIFTS EAST!
Tokyo, Straits Times, November 30th, 2039
China's President Shih Huang Tee and Japan's Prime Minister Jinsho Hashimoto has signed a cooperation pact defining a 5-point terms of engagement between the two East Asian powers.
The countries have had a Free Trade Agreement for the last five years, and are determined to expand their cooperation beyond trade. The five points are:
· Explore areas of military cooperation,
· Renounce territorial disputes and maintain the status quo until such disputes could be resolved by an independent body set up by the United Nations, members of whom would be agreeable to both nations,
· Improve bilateral cooperation in the following areas of research: Artificial Intelligence, Space propulsion systems, quantum computers, nuclear fusion, and agriculture.
· Resolve all issues outstanding from World War 2 where Japan would negotiate an acceptable reparation to China for its invasion of its territory, and the suffering inflicted on the Chinese people, and
· Renounce acts of aggression against each other
The 5-point Terms of Engagement had been in the planning and discussion stage for the past 5 years, with talks occurring at ministerial levels. Japan's Minister of Defence, Keizo Akura, reinforced that this is not a military pact or an alliance, but a way for both nations to move forward beyond their painful history of past aggressions. "Rather than throw stones at each other and maintain the confrontative posture which had been ongoing since 1949, Japan is willing to embrace our neighbour to the west and build upon a new era of Asian cooperation," Minister Akura said.
Since acquiring nuclear weapons capability in 2036, Japan had amassed a number of ICBMs of its own, each capable of delivering 5 megaton nuclear warheads to the continental United States, and Canada to the East, and Russia, China, and Eastern Europe, to the West. Relations with the West had been deteriorating in recent years during the premiership of PM Hashimoto who is of the view the Japanese people would be better served by growing closer to its Asian neighbour.
In response, the Whitehouse issued a statement reiterating the concern that Japan should remain within the Western Alliance where it had enjoyed significant protection and security of its borders for the past 98 years. While Japan had expelled American bases from its territory in 2037, it had yet to renounce the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan which commits the US to defend Japan in the event of an armed attack against Japan. "China is a communist nation which has no democratic foundation where the will of the people is followed. However, Japan is a democratic society and is more in tune with the Western Alliance than a communist power. We hope PM Hashimoto will understand the fundamental issues at stake when he collaborates with China," the statement emphasized.
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25 years ago
EYEWITNESS TO THE BATTLE OF MERSING: 4 MONTHS ON PAKU ISLAND
Singapore Times journalist Evelyn Lee spent 4 months in the early days of World War 3 on a deserted island 50 km off the Malaysian coast, an ally of the US that was invaded on the first day of the war by the combined navies of China and Japan. In an interview with Ginny Stewart, she gave an account of those months on Paku Island. Part 1: The First Two weeks.
The New Yorker Magazine, March 2, 2055.
I visited Evelyn Lee in Singapore early this year at her Singapore Times office. Who, you may wonder, is Evelyn Lee?
She is a five-foot seven journalist in her late twenties, with short wavy hair, sparkling eyes, and a vivacious personality working for the premier English Daily, The Singapore Times. She spent 127 days on a deserted island 50 km off the Malaysian coastal town of Mersing. She wasn't on assignment. It was her vacation in Mersing with two of her cousins, after she had graduated from the National University of Singapore with a major in journalism. Coincidentally, the Sino-Nippon alliance decided to invade Mersing, and she found herself on the open sea trying to escape the invasion hours after it began. Her boat was shot to bits by the invading forces and she and her cousins spent the next 24 hours in the water until they beached themselves on Paku Island.
A mirthful person with contagious joy, the experience made a profound impact on her life. It added a touch of melancholy to her otherwise care-free personality. What came across in our first meeting was her exuberance. She had a perpetual laughing tone in her voice which seemed to come from her inner self.
The first two weeks on the island was hell, she said. There was no freshwater and no food. All they had were coconuts and a swiss army knife. The first impression she had of the island was it might belong to the military because there were signs peppered along the beaches to warn off visitors or risk being shot.
Paku Island is a deserted, barren island. It stretches 800 m North to South, with a ridge on the western side parallel to the western coast beginning with a 100 foot height to the north increasing gradually to 400 foot to the south before it hit a column that shoots straight up almost vertically with an additional 600 foot. From far off the column appears to look like an inverted nail, hence it's name, which is Malay for nail. The island is 400 m at its widest East to West. Due to it's size it wasn't attractive to settlers and was left alone. Except for coconut trees on the west coast which has a 300 m long beach, there was hardly any vegetation.
On the tenth day, she felt so depressed and stressed that she cried alone on the beach. It was the nadir of her Paku experience. Her body cried out for nutrients and she was tired from the lack of sleep. There was no shelter and they slept on coconut leaves on top of dry sand. Their clothes were tattered and at night they shivered from the cold although this was the tropics. They caught possibly 4 to 5 hours of sleep a day.
At the end of the second week, Ken, her cousin spotted two boats heading in their direction. They couldn't tell whether it was friendly or from the invasion force.
As they looked at the two spots coming toward them from the horizon a voice spoke behind them, "Those are Chinese boats."
They turned around and saw a man in camouflaged attire, about five foot six, lean and muscular. He wasn't quite Chinese looking like Evelyn and her cousins, nor did he look indigenous or Malay. And he had a side arm.
"Where did you come from?" Ken asked surprised.
"I am Major Noor Jalidin, Royal Malaysian Navy. You are on Navy land."
Ken, who had served two years in the Singapore Armed Forces for his mandatory National Service, recognized the officer insignia on his shoulders, and the purple beret identifying him as "Paskal", the special operation forces of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
"We have ten minutes before they arrive. You can stay here and be captured or you can follow me."
And they followed him.
There was no path. They walked through bushes for some time before they arrived at a pool around 20- foot by 30-foot size. It was formed by erosion over the years and sea water appears to have filled it through an underground channel which couldn't be seen.
"I hope you can swim," the Major said, taking off his beret and inserting it into his belt.
"There is an opening at that point about 5-foot under the surface," he pointed at a spot. "Hold your breath for about 30 seconds when you are in that tunnel and swim for around 20-foot, and you will emerge in a cavern."
He looked at them to see if they understood the instructions.
"I can't swim," Evelyn said.
Ken and John seemed keen to jump in.
"You," the Major pointed at her, "Stay here. And you two follow me," he pointed at her cousins.
And all three were in the water and submerged leaving Evelyn alone.
After a few minutes, the Major appeared and he had on a full face mask with a small cylinder attached to it. His hand carried an identical mask and cylinder.
"Take it easy," he said to Evelyn noticing her petrified look when he was on land with her. "I need you to breath in and hold your breath 8 seconds and breath out for 10 seconds. What's your name?"
"Evelyn."
"Do you understand Evelyn? Breath in, hold 8 seconds, and breath out 10 seconds."
She nodded.
"I am going to teach you how to remain submerged underwater with this mask. But I need you to relax. We have time."
Evelyn did the breathing exercise a few times until she felt less anxious. The Major breath along with her. Hold 8 seconds, Release 10 seconds.
When she seemed more relaxed he said, "This mask will allow you to remain submerged for 15 minutes but if you are anxious or panicky, you have maybe 10 minutes. So being relaxed is important. We only need 1 minute of time underwater to get to the other side, only one minute,"
He looked at his watch and she could see him setting a timer for 4 minutes.
"What's that for?" she asked.
"We have to be gone in 4 minutes. The Chinese probably have landed."
Then the both of them were in the water and she had the mask on, and she was breathing through the mask. He then dragged her down to the bottom and she could see the dark opening. The depth of the pool was around 8 foot. He had on his mask and was looking at her eyes to see if she was ok. They were breathing at the bottom for about a minute before he gestured in the direction of the opening and made the universal ok sign in her face. She understood and she ok-ed back.
He grabbed her hand and made her grasp his belt. Then he started for the opening. The opening seemed like about 3 feet wide. It seemed more like a horizontal slit than a rounded tunnel. She grabbed on as tight as possible to the belt when in the opening for it was dark. After what seemed like a full minute, the ceiling disappeared, and they started to rise.
As her head emerged from the water, she saw the light of a torch, and her cousins.
"Way to go Hiang!" John said.
"Welcome to the Secret Place," Major Nur said.
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