Chapter 127: That Time I Fought a Diplomatic War in South America (2)

TL: Skye

Once the troop deployment was over, things remained peaceful for a while.

Whether the word peaceful really suited the president of San Marcos was debatable, but at least that was how it felt to Yu-jin.

For one thing, he could worry less about money.

'Feels like just yesterday we didn't even have enough food to feed everyone...'

The first $10 billion loan had come in, and with oil prices surging because of the Iran crisis, San Marcos's crude oil export revenues exploded.

Saying that money was pouring in wasn't even an exaggeration.

Of course, it still bothered Yu-jin that he had given in to Drump's relentless pressure and decided to deploy troops.

But looked at objectively, even that hadn't been a loss for San Marcos.

'It gave us a chance to reorganize the military.'

A formidable military wasn't something that could be built with money alone.

If it were, Saudi Arabia would have been the hegemonic power of the Middle East.

But how had that worked out in reality?

The Saudi military had bought all the latest weapons money could buy, yet even they were struggling against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Building a formidable military required three things.

National unity.

Loyalty to the country.

And most importantly, timing.

With this troop deployment, San Marcos had gained all three.

There was the unity of a public that respected its soldiers, the loyalty demonstrated by voluntary enlistments surging more than ninefold, and even the perfect timing of the United States effectively providing warships and instructors free of charge.

Conditions couldn't have been better.

Thanks to that, backed by ample funding and public support, San Marcos could push ahead with a mountain of projects all at once: modernizing the military, rolling out nationwide IT access, finishing construction on New Town, and expanding infrastructure in its tourist cities.

It had made Yu-jin considerably busier, but it was the good kind of busy.

It meant things were going well.

But.

'If things could just keep going like this, I wouldn't ask for anything more.'

Maybe trouble really did follow good fortune.

One afternoon, as Yu-jin was going through paperwork in his office.

“Your Excellency, may I come in?”

Isabella entered with a grim expression.

“What's with that face? Did something happen?”

“China's ambassador to the UN has formally filed a complaint accusing San Marcos of being a human-rights-abusing state.”

“...What?”

It was the last thing Yu-jin had expected to hear.

***

A few days earlier.

United Nations Human Rights Council. Geneva.

China's ambassador to the UN, Wang Lihua, stepped up to the podium.

“Distinguished Chair, esteemed members of the Human Rights Council.”

Wang Lihua's voice was calm, but sharp as a blade.

“We are deeply concerned by the serious human rights violations taking place in the Republic of San Marcos in the Caribbean.”

San Marcos had recently become something of a global pariah after its deployment to Hormuz.

The mere fact that the Chinese ambassador had singled the country out was enough to draw the entire chamber's attention.

“First, San Marcos has no parliament. All power is exercised by a single head of the executive without a legislative branch, which directly contravenes the fundamental principles of democracy.”

Wang Lihua turned a page.

“Second, San Marcos operates a so-called reeducation facility known as Tortilla Farm. There, not only San Marcos nationals but foreign workers as well have their freedom of movement restricted and are subjected to what amounts to forced labor. We have received reports that of approximately 180,000 workers who entered the country from Venezuela, 50,000 are being confined on the farm without their basic civil liberties being guaranteed.”

Wang Lihua looked into the camera.

“Accordingly, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, our government formally requests that the Human Rights Council open an investigation into San Marcos.”

The statement immediately spread across international news.

BBC: [China Raises San Marcos Human Rights Concerns at UN]

Reuters: [San Marcos Dictatorship Controversy — China Fires Opening Salvo]

AP: [Tortilla Farm — A Forced Labor Facility?]

Within a single day, the name San Marcos was splashed across international headlines.

In response, Yu-jin convened a Cabinet meeting, and the Senior Secretaries erupted in anger one after another.

“This is blatant interference in our internal affairs!”

Pedro slammed his fist on the table.

“China dares call us a human rights abuser?! The country that crushed its own citizens under tanks at Tiananmen?!”

Ricardo couldn't hide his anger either.

“This could affect the bond market. If the human rights issue gains traction, investor sentiment could deteriorate, and there may also be disruptions to the loan disbursement...”

Aman cut in.

“The same goes for industry. Korean companies are considering entering our market, but if we're branded a human-rights-abusing state, some of them may back out.”

Isabella spoke firmly.

“This is no time to sit back. We need to lodge a strong protest.”

The Senior Secretaries' voices grew louder and louder.

Yu-jin listened in silence.

Truthfully, he was furious too.

There was probably no one less interested in power than he was.

After all, he had wanted to retire from his very first day in office.

'A dictatorship? What kind of bullshit is that...'

Calling a man who wanted nothing more than to resign on the spot and spend the rest of his life fishing a dictator...

And what was this bullshit about human rights abuses?

He was providing free education and free meals.

It was infuriating.

But as Yu-jin looked at his enraged Senior Secretaries, he instead found himself growing calmer.

“Everyone, calm down.”

The Senior Secretaries paused, and Yu-jin spoke quietly.

“Our opponent is China, one of the so-called G2. It's the world's second-largest economy, with a population of 1.4 billion. And it's a permanent member of the UN Security Council.”

The meeting room fell silent.

“No matter how angry we are, confronting China head-on would be reckless.”

Yu-jin looked around at the Senior Secretaries.

“For now, let's issue a statement. Calm and dignified. Don't get angry, just explain the facts. The Republic of San Marcos is a democratic nation whose president was elected through a legitimate direct election system, and no form of human rights abuse exists here. If they have doubts, ask them to send UN investigators to San Marcos. Tell them they're welcome to come and see for themselves at any time.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes.

“You intend to allow investigators into the country?”

“Because we have nothing to hide.”

“But...”

Yu-jin gave a faint chuckle.

“If anything, I'd rather they came. They'll get to see with their own eyes just how far San Marcos has come over the past six years.”

“......”

And so the statement was issued.

[The government of San Marcos expresses deep regret regarding the present controversy. San Marcos is a nation whose people enjoy freedom and elections, and it engages in no form of human rights abuse. Accordingly, the government announces that it will cooperate fully with any investigation conducted by the UN Human Rights Council.]

It was calm and dignified. It did not rage, nor did it make excuses.

If anything, it carried the confidence of someone saying, Come and see for yourselves.

Admittedly, it might have looked like a somewhat timid response.

After all, China had provoked them, and San Marcos had answered with a single statement.

But the real payoff came from somewhere else.

Two hours after the statement went out, Drump's social media account exploded.

[China has no elections, no freedom of the press, and no freedom of assembly or protest, and THEY want to talk about human rights?! Even a passing dog would laugh!]

[The UN Human Rights Council would be better off ignoring China's nonsense and sending an investigative team to Xinjiang! America has evidence of what China is doing to the Uyghurs, and we can release it anytime!]

[President Yu-jin Choi of San Marcos is a legitimate leader elected with overwhelming support from his people! He is a miracle-working leader who grew San Marcos's GDP sixfold in six years! China should worry about human rights in its own country before worrying about someone else's!]

Drump's trademark rhetoric swept across the internet.

And this time, he didn't stop at threatening China with words.

He dumped evidence online showing that the Chinese government had violated the human rights of the Uyghurs.

China was caught off guard.

More precisely, it would be fair to say that China had underestimated Drump.

Even knowing what Drump was like, they hadn't expected him to respond head-on through social media barely twenty-four hours after China filed its complaint with the UN Human Rights Council.

And on top of that, he had actually released the evidence the United States had collected on the repression of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang for the entire world to see!

International public opinion turned in an instant.

China was criticizing San Marcos for dictatorship and human rights abuses?

A one-party dictatorship without elections?

The country that crushed its own citizens under tanks at Tiananmen?

The country running Uyghur internment camps?

The country that trampled democracy in Hong Kong?

The country that had oppressed Tibet for fifty years?

It wasn't exactly persuasive.

BBC: [Drump Counters China's San Marcos Criticism by Releasing Evidence of Uyghur Repression]

Reuters: [China's Human Rights Offensive Backfires After Drump Plays Uyghur Card]

In the end, China's ambassador to the UN had no choice but to withdraw the request for a formal investigation into San Marcos, and China's first attack seemed to fade quietly away.

Yu-jin looked at Drump's social media posts, which had produced that result, and couldn't help but be impressed.

'This one... I'm actually a little grateful for.'

It could only be described as political instinct.

The timing had been perfect too.

Even as Yu-jin felt grateful to Drump, however, he also found the man frightening.

Sure, Drump was the president of the United States, the undisputed number-one power on the planet, but Yu-jin still hadn't expected him to openly take a swing at China.

'Making an enemy of a man with no brakes like this would be terrifying.'

At any rate, just as Yu-jin was about to breathe a sigh of relief after surviving the first crisis.

Sophia hurried into the meeting room, her face white as a sheet.

“Y-Your Excellency.”

“...What is it?”

“Chile and Peru have announced that they intend to sever diplomatic relations with San Marcos.”

“What?”

“And Brazil and Argentina have decided to impose additional tariffs on imports from San Marcos.”

“......”

Chile, Peru, Brazil, Argentina. Every one of them did a great deal of trade with China.

They were also countries that had received plenty of Chinese money.

Naturally, they were in no position to easily refuse China's demands.

In other words, once the UN human rights card had been blocked, China had pulled out its second card.

The strategy was to mobilize China-friendly countries and isolate San Marcos within the region.

Yu-jin, however, remained calm.

Consider the situation objectively.

Suppose Brazil and Argentina, the two heavyweights of South America, imposed additional tariffs on San Marcos.

Both countries might have been struggling lately, but in population, industry, technology, manufacturing, finance, and everything else, there wasn't a single area where they were inferior to San Marcos. Both were even well known for their low labor costs.

So what exactly did San Marcos export to the two countries?

At most, refined petroleum produced at its plants.

As far as manufactured goods went, export volumes were so negligible that even raising tariffs to 200 percent would barely be noticeable.

As for the oil, it could simply be sent to another buyer, Korea.

Chile and Peru, however, would sting a little more.

San Marcos did a fairly substantial amount of trade with both countries.

The textile firms operating in the industrial complex shipped significant volumes to the two countries, and they also bought large quantities of plastic feedstock produced at the plants.

But there was one problem...

Both countries were major centers of the cocaine trade.

Peru in particular was the world's second-largest coca-growing country, while Chile was one of the key transit hubs for drug distribution in South America.

San Marcos maintained an absolute zero-tolerance policy toward drugs.

One of the reasons Tortilla Farm existed was to reeducate people convicted of drug-related crimes, and Lucio's SIA devoted enormous manpower and resources to cutting off narcotics trafficking routes.

That anti-drug policy was also one of the reasons Drump liked San Marcos.

Meanwhile, as trade volumes kept increasing, the number of Chileans and Peruvians traveling to San Marcos on business had grown along with them.

And that meant the likelihood of cocaine finding its way into San Marcos was rising too.

In fact, more than thirty gangs from the two countries had already been caught by the SIA while trafficking narcotics.

Yu-jin had therefore even been considering reducing trade with them rather than risk sacrificing the greater good for short-term gains...

But now the two countries had come forward first and announced that they were severing diplomatic relations.

'It's a bit of a shame... but now that it's come to this, there's nothing we can do.'

Sophia, unaware of what was going through his head, still looked grave, but Yu-jin spoke lightly instead.

“There's no need to worry too much.”

“Pardon?”

“We hardly export anything to Brazil or Argentina anyway, and we already needed to be cautious with Chile and Peru because of the drug issue. I'd been wondering what to do about them, but if they're the ones choosing to sever diplomatic relations first, that's actually a relief.”

Sophia's eyes widened.

“I-Is that so?”

“Still, we can't just sit here and do nothing, can we?”

“Pardon?”

“Check what information we have on Venezuela. I need to speak with the real power brokers in the new government.”

Sophia tilted her head.

“Venezuela...?”

“Yes. If they're trying to isolate us, then we'll need to build a camp of our own.”

“But Venezuela is one of the most openly pro-China countries...”

“Even so, we'll have to find some way to make it work.”

Whatever he lost in one place, he would make up somewhere else.

That was Yu-jin's thinking.

*****

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