[South Africa]: Message to Vietnam

[Owen]

​

"Dear the 17 year old President of Vietnam, It is with great pleasure that I reach out to the Republic of Vietnam for a level of friendship. While we may not see eye-to-eye or value the Asian race in particularly, we can see great benefits in our countries becoming close friends to combat the re-surgence of Communism, both in Africa and in Asia. I would like to invite you to conduct a State Visit to South Africa where we can discuss a myriad of opportunities and issues. Kind Regards, Pieter Willem Botha, State President of the Republic of South Africa."

 

[Joe]

The President of Vietnam would send a reply, dictating his intent to send a member of his cabinet on an official state visit to the Republic of South Africa, the first delegation of Vietnam to ever visit a foreign country.

 

[Owen]

"Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your reply. I look forward to meeting whomever it is you plan on sending to South Africa. We will be pleasantly awaiting their arrival.

Sincerely,
Pieter Willem Botha,
State President of the Republic of South Africa."

 

[Joe]

Onboard Vietnam Airways Flight 374-SPEC, a civilian Airbus A310, the Vietnamese delegation consisted of the following key members of the Republic of Vietnam Presidential Cabinet, Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Thắng, the Prime Minister of the National Congress as well as the Representative of the Nguyen Dynasty, Archbishop Ngư Công Lý, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, and Officer Cadet Sái Thành Lợi, acting as the official representative of the Ngo Presidency. Despite the Nguyen Dynasty holding no political power and officially only being a symbolic state, Crown Prince Nguyen was the selected "head" of the delegation as the highest ranking diplomat on board Flight 374.

Over the skies of the Indian Ocean, Officer Cadet Sai was engrossed in the dossier on his lap, doing a last minute review of the political state of South Africa. Used to spartan accomodations, the fact that he had an entire row of first class seats to himself was a culture shock. Naturally, the disciplined military man remained confined to his single seat. The only thing marking his intrusion out of his "bubble" was an ear-marked and beaten book, Fighter and Reformer: Extracts from the Speechs of P.W. Botha.

"Officer Cadet?" A flight attendant tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yes?" Sai blinked, looking up.

"Crown Prince Nguyen wishes to see you."

"Thank you," Sai replied, sliding the documents back into the manilla folder and locking them away in a briefcase. He tucked the briefcase away and stood up, stretching his legs. He navigated to the back of the plane, manuevering past the various security personnel, secretaries, reporters, and the like, until he came across the door entering into Crown Prince Nguyen's private quarters. He adjusted his dress greens, ensuring that the dark green cloth that was reminescent of the American World War Two uniform was perfect and impeccable. Finally satisfied, he placed his peaked cap on his head and knocked on the door. Tap, tap, tap.

"Enter."

Officer Cadet Sai pushed open the door and stepped into the office. Like his office in the Presidential Palace and in the National Congress, Crown Prince Nguyen edged towards spartan instead of opulent... as he should. All that lay in the office was a wooden desk and two chairs, one of which was occupied by Archbishop Ngu. A bed lay off to the side, perfectly made and with hospital corners. Officer Cadet Sai clicked his heels and saluted.

"Thank you, Thanh... please, be seated. You've met Cong, yes?"

"Yes, sir. We have met. Hello, Father." Officer Cadet Sai nodded politely, bowing his head.

"My son." Archbishop Ngu responded. "How are you?"

"Very well, Father Ngu, thank you." Officer Cadet Sai took a seat. "Is there a reason that I'm here, sir?"

"Yes, Sai, there is." Prince Nguyen said. "Gentlemen, as we approach South Africa, I only need to remind you that the situation is very... fragile. Archbishop Ngu, I hear that that there is a sizeable Catholic demographic in Namibia. Communism as well, from what I hear. It is with our uptmost urgency that we root out any communism found wherever it is in the world, no matter the cost. President Ngo and the Republic demands it. Communism is a cancer that blights society."

"And Apartheid." Officer Cadet Sai noted. "How is it that in any modern society, the people are split down the middle?"

"Apartheid is an abomination before God." Archbishop Ngu said, visibly weakened.

"Which is why we shall proceed carefully..."

The plane continued on it's approach to South Africa.

 

[Owen]

"374SPEC, Johannesburg Approach, you're cleared to land Runway 3 Right."

As the plane landed the State President and his wife, Elizabeth would be standing on the tarmac waiting beside a stairwell and red carpet. The State President's Guard would line the carpet on one side for the Crown Prince to review, they would hold up the South African and Vietnamese flags. He would also be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pik Botha and Chief of the Defence Force, General Johannes Geldenhuys.

​

 

[Joe]

The plane would land in Johannesberg, with a Department of State Security Officer stepping off the plane first and immediately securing the airstairs. He'd salute the Crown Prince, the Archduke, and the Aide de Camp to the President as they disembark the plane to meet the South Africans.

Warmly, Prince Nguyen would shake the hand of the State President.

"Hello, Mr. President, It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

 

[Owen]

"Your Royal Highness, it is also a pleasure. This is my wife, Elizabeth."

She would also shake his hand.

"It's an honour, Your Royal Highness."

The President would walk with the Crown Prince as they inspected the State President's Guard, the State President would be saluting as he goes along. Elizabeth would trail along with no companion as the Prince came seemingly as a bachelor. The State President would inquire about this.

"You are not a married man yet, Your Royal Highness? I'm surprised, you're quite the handsome bachelor."

 

[Joe]

"Pleasure to meet you, madam... your beauty knows no bounds." Crown Prince Nguyen bowed his head politely as he took Elizabeth's hand in his gloved one in a firm handshake. "May I introduce you to the Archduke Ngu as well as the President's representative, Officer Cadet Sai."

The two walked towards the waiting state car, with Crown Prince Nguyen maintaining a close eye on the assembled South African soldiers. They were much taller... much taller than his own ARVN troops, he noticed. Yet, as the Americans learned in the 60s, being larger and taller than your opponent was only a hindrance when they ran circles around you in the jungle.

"A wife," The Crown Prince mused. "Perhaps I merely haven't met the perfect woman yet, such as your dear wife Elizabeth."

More like man, Archbishop Ngu thought disdainfully. It was a hidden secret that the Prime Minister was homosexual. The heir to the Nguyen Dynasty was left in the hands of a heretic. Archbishop Ngu and President Ngo had often come to blows over the question of Crown Prince Nguyen's rank and position in the Republican Government... after all, it wasn't so long ago that the Supreme Court of the Republic ruled that gay marriage was legal and contested that the idea of being homosexual constituted being a social invalid was immorally wrong. The Conservatives and Traditionalists in the country were still in an uproar.

"I must say, Pieter, we were quite surprised to receive your invitation to your beautiful country," Crown Prince Nguyen said brightly. "It reminds me of Saigon... although slightly less humid. We hope that this meeting can bring our countries together in our fight against communism around the world."

 

[Owen]

"Ah, that's a shame. I'm sure you will find the perfect woman one day to be your Empress when you take the throne....

Yes certainly, it is a dry heat here mainly in South Africa, though up in the north of the Transvaal it can get humid but certainly not as humid as Zambia or the Congo. Certainly down south in the Cape it becomes much more of a Mediterranean climate and I like to spend most of my days down there, though it can get pretty cold up here. See Johannesburg and Pretoria and most of the Transvaal and Orange Free State are located ontop of a plateau not like Durban and Cape Town down on the coast. And yes it does Snow regularly in the Drakensberg mountains, so we have a varied climate here in South Africa, not like Vietnam."

They would head into the car, a Mercedes-Benz to be specific, a State President's Guard would hold open the door for the Crown Prince, the State President and the First Lady. They would drive north from Kempton Park where the Airport is towards Pretoria, a 45 minute or so drive. Police would follow and provide security detail. They would head to the Union Buildings, where the State President's residence and office were both located. They would walk up the steps into the cloisters-style area. They would head into the State President's office. They would take seats, the State President and Crown Prince would sit on the chairs, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pik Botha and the Vice State President, F.W. de Klerk would sit down on the sofa next to the State President whereas the Archduke and Officer Cadet Sai would sit on the other sofa. A flag of Vietnam and South Africa would be behind them and in front of them would be the State President's desk and two South African flags behind that along with a bookshelf. The window would look out over Pretoria as the Union Buildings are on a hill in the middle of Pretoria.

"May I start off with saying it's a pleasure to welcome His Royal Highness to South Africa and the Vietnam delegation. We welcome them strongly, as our friends in the fight against global Communism and the protection and strengthening of our cultures and ways of life."

 

[Joe]

"Thank you, President Botha," Crown Prince Nguyen said politely. "We are only disappointed that our two countries were not able to meet sooner. Let it be known from this point on that the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Vietnam will be the bulwark against communism for years to come. Let's talk about our agenda, yes? We've been hoping to discuss what your plans are in the indeterminate future with Namibia to the North... as we all know, over a hundred thousand communists reside in the region. The threat of a communist regime in Africa bordering you is very real."

 

[Owen]

"Yes well as you know, we gave Namibia independence 5 years ago against international pressure and sanctions, thankfully those sanctions have been lifted but now the SWAPO have taken power in Namibia and they are allowing it to be used as a springboard against us, housing the ANC, the PAC and the South African Communist Party to launch attacks and provide safehaven for their terrorist fighters. The people of the Northern Cape and indeed, Botswana and Bophuthatswana, shouldn't have to live in fear of these attacks coming from Namibia and we will do whatever is in our power to stop that."

 

[Joe]

Crown Prince Nguyen cocked his head. "This reminds me of a valuable lesson that I was taught at the Academy before I was forced to... ah... flee the country. The best defense, is a good offense. Tell me, is it not a valid thought that there may be more potential casualties if you await for the Communists to come to you instead of the other way around?

 

[Owen]

"Well if we need to get serious about the conversation give me a second..."

He would snap his fingers to the guards would escort the journalists out of the room and close the doors behind him, making the conversation PRIVATE/SECRET/WHATEVER ELSE (I'm watching you Bruno).

"Well.... the reason we left Namibia was international pressure. Now that the USSR has all but reformed between Russia and Ukraine, I feel like the pressure may weaken a bit. Originally pressure came from the West because Communism fell and they saw no need for us to continue the WW1 Mandate. I'm not sure how the west feels that Communism didn't fall for very long and we're now back to its resurgence in Europe in particular. We cannot go into Namibia without the West's backing or at least the West turning a blind eye to it."

 

[Joe]

Archbishop Ngu glanced awkwardly at Crown Prince Nguyen. His expression did not change.

In for a penny, out for a pound.

"Mr. President," Crown Prince Nguyen said gently. "The West could hardly care about a small country like Namibia or the workings of Africa... moreover, the United States will surely endorse any action against Namibia if one were to pose it as a crusade against the communists. But, it'd help to be extraordinarily delicate... between you and I, President Ngo will surely support any action you take against these Namibian communists provided that we... ah... see some material benefit."

 

[Owen]

"Possibly, our plan is to at least get them into a not caring position or one of support, hopefully in the unlikely scenario that Russia or Ukraine retaliate. I doubt this, they have too much internal problems to deal with at the moment. The United States however has a history of meddling in people's affairs, more or less for their own benefit, as I'm sure your country can remember. What material benefit are you looking at getting from Namibia? I could fast track applications for Vietnamese mining companies if that's what you desire."

 

[Joe]

"The United States are opportunistic sharks... they don't fight battles that they know they'll get hurt in. They only meddle in affairs when they smell blood in the water. You can be assured that if they see a formidible opponent that is capable of retaliating to a certain extent, they will back down," Crown Prince Nguyen said. "In return as to what we may want in exchange for our potential support... an installation of military or intelligence significance may placate us."

 

[Owen]

"Possibly, we hope it is the case they do not care or they're too preoccupied with something else. But... I'm not sure we can offer you a dedicated military installation in our country. We could offer you access to ports and air bases under the control of our military, but not a dedicated one under the control of Vietnam's military. You could, however, inquire with one of the four independent homeland states; Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda or Ciskei. What type of base are you looking to get? Only Transkei and Ciskei have access to the ocean, whereas Bop and Venda are further inland if you want an air base closer to the action."

 

[Joe]

"We'd be willing to discuss sharing one of your current airbases," Prime Minister Nguyen responded. "But, if you would allow me... perhaps we can make some adjustments to the itineary? I'd like to personally meet a few Chiefs of the independent homeland states if that'd be allowed."

 

[Owen]

"Certainly, after our meeting, you can head off to the Homelands if you wish I have no problems with that, they are independent afterall... We will see how well your plane can land at their airports or you can drive overland to them."

 

[Owen]

@Joe