In the Situation Room the atmosphere was sombre. Kai took his place at the table quietly.
When everyone had arrived, Chen asked Chang Jianjun for an update. Kai noticed that his father was looking old: his hair was thin, his skin seemed loose and grey, and he had not shaved well. He was not yet seventy, but he had been smoking for half a century, as his yellow teeth witnessed. Kai hoped he was all right.
After summarizing the current situation, Jianjun said: ‘The last two months have seen an escalating series of attacks on China. First of all, the US tightened sanctions on North Korea, leading to the economic crisis and the rebellion of the ultras. Then more than one hundred of our citizens were slaughtered by an American drone in Port Sudan. Next, we caught American geologists – ineffectively concealed aboard a Vietnamese ship – prospecting for oil within our maritime territory. Finally, our close ally North Korea was attacked by South Korean missiles, attacked again by American planes, ships and missiles, and then invaded last night. And today the Diaoyu Islands – Chinese territory by any fair-minded judgement – have been invaded and occupied by Japanese soldiers.’
It was a formidable list, undeniably, and Kai himself felt for a moment that perhaps he had failed to note the pattern.
‘And in all that time,’ Jianjun said with slow emphasis, ‘what has China done? With the sole exception of the sinking of the Vu Trong Phung, we have not fired a single weapon. I put it to you, comrades, that we have encouraged this mounting aggression by our feeble retaliation.’
Defence Minister Kong Zhao replied. ‘You don’t kill a man for stealing your bicycle,’ he began. ‘Yes, we must respond to this outrageous Japanese invasion – but our response must be proportionate. US officials have repeatedly confirmed that the Diaoyu Islands are covered by the US–Japan military treaty, so that the Americans are obliged to defend the islands. And let’s be honest: the occupation presents no threat to us. There is nothing that Japanese soldiers can do there that they could not do better aboard their submarines – except plant a flag. Flags are symbolic, of course – that is their only purpose – and the Japanese action is symbolic, no more. Our response must be calibrated appropriately.’
I couldn’t have put it better myself, thought Kai. Kong had turned the mood of the meeting right around.
At that point General Huang said: ‘We have video of the occupied islands, taken by a Chinese drone. It’s a couple of minutes. Do comrades wish to see it?’
They did, of course.
Huang spoke to an aide and pointed to a screen.
They saw a small island: just a rocky peak, a patch of level ground covered with sparse shrubbery and coarse grass, and a narrow beach. Two submarines floated in the bay, each displaying the red-and-white sunburst of the Japanese naval ensign. There were about thirty men on the island, mostly young and cheerful-looking. A closer shot showed them chatting and smiling as they erected tents. One of them waved at the aircraft that was filming them. Another jabbed a pointing finger at it – a gesture of contempt and antagonism that was highly offensive in Japan and China – and the rest laughed. The film ended.
There were angry mutters around the table. The behaviour of the troops was insulting. The normally urbane Foreign Minister Wu Bai said: ‘Those young fools are mocking us.’
President Chen said: ‘What do you think we should do, Wu Bai?’
Wu clearly felt offended by the video, and he spoke with uncharacteristic rancour. ‘Comrade Chang Jianjun pointed out that we have borne a series of humiliations for the sake of peace.’ The word humiliation was loaded: it brought back thoughts of the country’s years under the heel of Western colonialism, and never failed to raise hackles. ‘We have to take a stand some time, somewhere, and in my view this is the time and the place. It is the first occasion on which Chinese territory has been invaded.’ He paused and drew breath. ‘Comrades, we should make it clear to our enemies that this is where we draw the line.’
President Chen surprised Kai by supporting Wu immediately. ‘I agree,’ he said. ‘My basic duty is to protect the territorial integrity of the country. If I fail in that, I fail as a president.’
It was a strong statement – and all because a few high-spirited lads had shown disrespect! Kai was dismayed, but he said nothing. He could not possibly prevail against the hardliners when they were backed by the president and the foreign minister. He had learned long ago to fight only those battles that he could win.
Chen then backtracked slightly. ‘All the same, our reaction should be measured.’