NationStates Jolt Archive

Los Angeles

"... hereby grants Akabania Corp. of Japan Chapter Eleven bankruptcy until such time as it can make good on payments outstanding with the federal government of the United States..."

Singapore

There wasn't much of a panic in Singapore. Really, there wasn't much of an anything. Akabania's foreign employees packed up company materials and left on December 20th, 2006. They left a nation with robust civil services and public amenities without any form of higher government whatsoever, a Medusa of utilities, public transportation, sanitation and healthcare, self sufficient but totally undirected.

The Akabanians were leaving. Nobody was quite sure what to make of it, and they stared as their corporate heads/government drove away in trucks to Singapore International Airport. Hundreds found themselves suddenly unemployed, fired from middle-management jobs at Akabania's corporate headquarters. The rest-- employed at non-governmental corporations-- went about their day with consternation. But Singapore was not a nation ready for nor interested in anarchy, and it showed. Within a day, blackouts became a serious problem as it became clear that nobody was allocating electricity from the power grid. That had been an Akabania job, liquidated in the pullout. Trains and buses ran on time, but nobody was going to work. In a suddenly uncertain atmosphere, people were staying home with their families.

Singapore Harbour

Well, that was unusual. Marine Colonel Avery Rhede sipped her tea on the deck of the FCS Ark Royal and watched Singapore's largest skyscrapers go dark. It was a disquieting sight; the great buildings had been lit constantly since the Australasian Home Fleet had arrived weeks ago, sending fingers of rippling light across the dark ocean at night and providing a cheery hello in the early morning. Avery set her mug of tea down on the bridge deck's railing and stuffed her hands into her pockets. She squinted at the city before turning to look at the flag bridge of the Ark Royal, gathering her tea as she did so.

Admiral Damascus was sitting placidly in his chair, stumpy form crumpled into the cracked faux-leather upholstry. He had one ear pressed against a telephone and was grumbling at it intently.

"Yes, yes. Thank you for making me aware of the situation, Mr. Chairman. I'm concerned, I must admit, about the status of Singapore itself. Yes, I'm sure the corporation did all it could, yes. It's like this, though, Mr. Chairman. From here, I can see at least three places where there's no power in the city, and it looks like there's something of a crowd gathering on the waterfront. Yes, I know. I'm not sure that I'm expressing myself clearly, Chairman..."

Singapore

"'S a mess, colonel." Marine Lieutenant David Whitters looked around Singapore's dockyard, noting the lack of working employees and the rather large crowd of sullen looking young men. The power was down again, leaving the port without electricity upon which it depended for normal operations.

"Establish some kind of command post in a secure area, I'll be coming ashore soon." The colonel sounded nervous, Whitters noted as he acknowledged, motioning for his squad to begin unloading the Balikpapan-class landing craft that had carried them ashore. The twelve men and women hurried to do his bidding, slinging their Steyr assault rifles over their shoulders. They waved a score of trucks off of the boat and pointed them in the direction of a large parking lot nearly empty of vehicles. Adjacent crouched a low building studded with satellite dishes and tall aerials, a telecommunications building of some kind. It was of solid concrete construction and had few large windows. There were no blind approaches, and no nearby buildings were significantly taller than it was. It would do for the moment.

Roughly two hours later, Whitters surveyed his work. The few employees remaining had been requested to leave. The parking lot, once empty, was now host to twelve green tents of varying size, twenty-three large trucks, an improvised checkpoint and a few pintle-mounted Bren guns masked by camo netting. No need to provoke fear. The building itself, home to Singapore Public Television, had been transformed internally. The large business floor had been cleared of extraneous desks and furniture. Technicians were laying wiring now, hooking FCMC Powerbooks to a portable server. Apple architecture was clunky, but it resisted virus attacks and, with a little modification, could be made to do such things as launch nuclear missiles at Sweden.

Three Days Later

Colonel Rhede sat at one of the desks, phone pressed to one ear and eyes scanning an email from h.damascus@FCN.au. It was a videoburst provided by Akabanian executives, eager to divest themselves of their Singapore investment. Her orders were to broadcast it at 2100 hours to all news stations on the island, a sort of farewell message from Akabania to the former Akabanians. Rhede sighed and fished a pack of gum from her tunic's pocket. She studied the package and grimaced; wintermint was disgusting. Popping a stick into her mouth, she continued down her to do: list.

Ah, yes. She needed to appoint provisional department heads and assign liaisons to various Singaporean administrators. Diplomats would have to be brought in from Raleigh in large numbers; calming and reassuring the populace was paramount in importance. This was not a third-world nation with a poorly educated populace. It was one of the richest per-capita nations in all of Asia, certainly moreso than the Free Colony. Things would have to work quickly and flawlessly.

The position of military governor was an uncomfortable one for Rhede, whose personal politics tended towards liberalism. She ignored the urge to announce democratic elections and suchlike, reasoning that such things were best dealt with by the career administrators being sent from Raleigh. Singaporeans themselves appeared to be taking things well enough, although reports of riots were filtering through the still-sketchy communications channels of the Provisional Authority.

Forces on Singapore now numbered close to eight hundred marines and two hundred naval officers. An administrative staff of over two hundred and fifty men and women bustled in and out of the headquarters building, many of them still setting up their office spaces for what would doubtless be a long deployment. Singaporean officials of varying standing were being called in to meet with Australasians in an attempt to form a bi-national leadership. Pressing matters included the electrical grid, public transportation and healthcare, as well as finding and raising funds for public use. Currently, the Singaporean budget had been appended to that of the Marine Corps, making the FCMC the most expensive service by half, replacing the navy in that dubious honour.

Raleigh

Press releases state that the Singaporean operation took place at the behest of departing Akabania Corp. executives, and proof was found in the form of a video made by the chairman of the board, who requested that the 'Australasian protection fleet' deploy peacekeeping units and assist in the creation of a 'unity government'. Although certain outlets were doubtless going to be skeptical, the tape was genuine enough. It had been made at the secret request of the government in Raleigh for a generous sum of money spread throughout various government funds and budgets, but the tape was genuine.

Prime Minister Strathairn shared a glass of scotch with Christina in his office and drew a large red check mark through Singapore. Score one, Australasia.

The Chinese leadership had decided to deploy a fleet for a friendship visit to Indonesia at an extremely opportune time. The fleet would in fact be passing through the straits of Malacca in less than 48 hours, enough to work something out if Beijing were to look unfavourably upon Singapore's new administration. As such, the Nationalist leader Chang immediately demanded Presidential permission to deploy eighteen squadrons of stealth fighters for a highly covert mission to Singapore.

It was denied. President Hu in fact did not mind Singapore being administered by Australasia as long as it did not turn out to be a repeat of NATO's excessively confrontation Suez policy.

A brief note was sent to Raleigh and Singapore, congratulating them on the peaceful "transition" and offering a few hundred marines to help patrol the city if they wished for neutral troops to "legitimise" the process.

Which was not to say we don't expect something in return for not making a fuss about this, Hu Jintao quietly thought. The Australasians would be smart enough to understand the nature of international politics to know that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Raleigh

Everyone was pleased to see the Chinese taking a rational stand on the issue, and Beijing was thanked for its 'rational and co-operative outlook'. The offer of Chinese marine assistance was accepted, but numbers would be kept small so as to 'keep armed military presence to a minimum'.

Strathairn was pleased. There were dozens of ways that things could have gone wrong, and thus far none of them had come to pass. Word was still forthcoming from Sithin, Mumbai and Raipur, but if China was willing to be friends... Perhaps the embassy in Beijing wouldn't be removed after all. The Prime Minister chewed on the unlit tip of his pipe, considering. Perhaps this would be an opportune moment to relax trade restrictions with Southeast Asian nations that had sprung up with regards to the Indonesian situation. Australasia had been a major hub of trade before that series of crises, and businesses were feeling the strain. It was high time that the Chinese have some economic competition in the Asian sea trade.

A press release dated that afternoon stated that 'due to the urgent need to establish Singaporean economic stability', all trade restrictions with Southeast Asian nations were hereby rescinded. Dra-Poel ports would remain off-limits, but the Korean peninsula hadn't seen a western tradeship for years, and nobody was particularly surprised. Singapore's dockyards were to hire all the workers necessary, and would be subsidized by the government for a period of six months via short term loans. Australasian companies were enticed to move into Singapore with tax breaks and other incentives. The Spyran and Sujavan embassies were to be re-opened forthwith.

Singapore

A regiment of regular Army troops was slowly filtering in via C-130 aircraft. Singapore was home to several large airports, one of which was slowly being converted into a camp for the Australasian servicemen that had come to stay. Quonset huts filled the parking lot of Paya Lebar airfield. Mess tents sent smoke curling skyward, and the sound of Bushmaster IMVs tottling around lent a sort of MASH feel to the whole operation. A small stable of ASLAVs, the only armoured vehicles in Singapore, waited in the southeastern corner of the airfield.

The only fighter aircraft on the island as of yet were the dozen AF/A-18 Super Hornets of No.75 squadron. Had the Chinese sent their proposed attack force, the Australasians would have been hard-pressed to leave the ground, much less attack in any force. Coupled with the AS-12s of the fleet, they might have cost China a few billion dollars and half a dozen lives, but would have been overrun in minutes. Singapore's air defence instead relied on the Jindalee OTHR, capable of spotting any aircraft--stealth or not-- launched against Singapore almost half an hour in advance of attack.

Space was found in the Punggol district for Chinese marines, who were requested to 'integrate with Australasian units'-- essentially, be in a place where they can be watched. Nobody was quite sure that the Chinese weren't planning something, but a few extra hands could always be used. The Chinese would go on 'friendship missions' with the Colonial Marines, showing the flag and passing out soup, blankets or other necessaries to those areas affected by blackouts.

May I point out that Australasia means the whole entire Australia/New Zealand/South Asia/ area.

OOC: Not in AMW, it doesn't.

Jakarta is perhaps less pleased than their allies in Beijing, at least in public... Singapore was, after all, the source of oppression and violence, even genocide, for millions across Southeast Asia barely a decade ago. The opinion in Sujava, and likely elsewhere in the former Federal Republic, is that the Singaporeans ought be left to suffer in their exile as they had before the appearance of the Ringist Akabanians.

Advantage can be sought in the situation, however... nothing is more likely to unite the ex-Bonstockian states than the delivery of succour to Singapore, and Strainist diplomats quickly begin the attempt to ensure that such unity can be directed to Jakarta's purposes.

Raleigh does recieve a communique from the Strainists, listing the inhabitants of Singapore convicted as war criminals by various courts in the former FRB. The list is extensive, some twenty thousand individuals including numerous figures who remain ranking members of Singapore's military and business sectors.

Raleigh

The request that might have been handled diplomatically just weeks earlier was placed in a circular file and generally ignored. Strainist good feeling wasn't really worth the paper upon which it would be gained, especially in light of Sithin's declaration of intentions with regards to the Suez. The only response to Jakarta's request came in the form of a letter which discussed 'the realities on the ground in Singapore' and the 'need to create a viable, non-Akabania Corp. centred economy in the years ahead'. For these reasons, 'The Free Colony regrets that it will be unable to provide extraditions of this scope', but will be 'conducting its own investigation in the near future'.

The Home Fleet's departure for points west was quietly cancelled, and patrols of the surrounding waters resumed.

There is little doubt in many Unioners' minds as to what the Australasians intend to use Singapore for. For them Singapore will, many think, serve the same purpose as Palawan did for the Holy League; a naval base on the lines of communication between India and the Lyong Peninsula. As NATO seeks a war with India, no doubt at the behest of the brutal and greedy League, the presence of such a likely enemy at the head of the strategically-vital Strait of Malacca is very troubling. INS Ambikapur, a small patrol ship and single-role minehunter, is the first Union warship to arrive near Singapore, and wastes no time in making its presence known. The vessel cruises just outside Singapore's territorial waters, stopping and searching incoming watercraft, ostensibly for Sultan Mansur of Aceh, but Bonstockian war criminals will also be captured if they are found. Armed only with a 40mm gun and shoulder-fired SAMs, there isn't much that Ambikapur can do for its own defense, so if the Singaporeans sortie out and attack it, the captain will have to make for Sujava.

In the meantime, Parliament follows Strainists requests for the extradition of Bonstockian war criminals with its own. It is thought that Raleigh might still take some time to consider what Mumbai says, given that Parliament has been friendly towards Australasia in the past.

[OOC: The Ambikapur could probably get pretty close, since Singapore isnt recognized as having territorial waters.

Heh, the only reason they weren't eliminated entirely by the Sinoese during the war was that the Soviets came to their defense. The beginning of rolplayed Sino-Indian tensions, as you'll doubtless recall].

Raleigh's refusal to extradite was expected, and likely anticipated with eagerness, by a Party more interested in regional politics than in the execution of Bonstock's surviving officers. Why, it is asked, are new trials needed? The guilty are already known, convicted by courts in Sujava, Malaya, Papua... why should men who locked conscripts in sinking ships, who detonated nuclear test devices over Timorese villages, who firebombed a Burmese city when a single soldier was killed in a bordello, be granted further reprieve? Singapore was a fitting prison, left without resources and without wealth to wallow in the destitution which its population had seen fit to render upon much of Southeast Asia during their years of dominance. If that situation is to change then justice will become more direct, with Australasian cooperation or no.

OOC: Sorry, I forgot this existed!

IC:

Singapore

"Present arms!" A squad of marines in full dress snapped their Enfields against their gloved palms, eliciting a snapping sound. "Shoulder arms!" At the sergeant's command, the marines brought their rifles crashing painfully against black-coated shoulders, and the tune of God Save the King began to play. A union flag rose up the empty flagpole, replacing the Australasian naval ensign that had flown from there before.

Colonel Avery Rhede stood at attention, feeling uncomfortable in her new Royal Marine blacks. Military governor was an unpleasant post, especially given the rhetoric put forth by Sithin on the matter. Tensions, fortunately, were decreasing with the resolution of the Suez crisis, and even Mumbai's minehunter had limited itself to patrols and the like. It would not have encountered much in the way of contraband cargo on British (or formerly Australasian) flagged vessels, since all sensitive cargo and personnel were being transported by air, if at all.

Singapore itself was coming swiftly back to life, accepting its role as a temporary protectorate of Britain with little fuss. For a nation that had seen its best economic times begin under Britain, the union flag was a symbol of prosperity and legitimate authority rather than, as in Africa, long-past colonial usurpations. A plebiscite, scheduled for September of 2007, would determine whether Singapore joined the Empire or remained an independent state. For the moment, few in the small island nation considered the question one way or another.

Akabania's departure had been sudden, but the characteristically Singaporean industriousness of the island's inhabitants had caused little disruption in daily life. Aid, in the form of the Great British Pound, flowed as necessary, but few partook of the handouts. They were in the form of ultra-low interest loans, and the relatively affluent Singaporeans saw little need to line their pockets. State services, interrupted by the handover of power, were seeing a resurgence under joint-Singaporean/British control.

Certain particularly unsavoury war criminals were, after a month or so of 'investigations' produced for trial in the INU or Spyr. Notably, these were frequently not people who occupied posts vital to the success of the Singaporean economy, although a corporate figurehead or two was included so as to prevent accusations of favouritism towards the elite. More were promised 'as investigations continued to yield evidence'.