[THA] Message to Vietnam

[Alex]

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To: Nguyễn Minh Chiến From: Don Pramudwinai Dearest Minister Chiến, It is my honor to be the one to begin the Thai outreach to Vietnam and congratulate you and your government in stabilizing the country after the downfall of the communist regime. Due to our countries' close proximity and strategic locations, it is Thailand's hope that we can begin bilateral relations to secure the safety and peace within the south and southeast Asian regions, especially with the sudden tensions growing with the powers in the west. I hope that this aspiration is as important to you as it is to Thailand and I eagerly await your reply. Kindest Regards, Don Pramudwinai Minister of Foreign Affairs Rattanakosin Kingdom

@Joe

 

[Joe]

A reply would be sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Rattankosin Kingdom.

"Dear the Esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pramudwinai,

On behalf of the Office of the President, John Duc Dinh, we extend our sincerest regards to your nation in extending this historic olive branch to the Republic of Vietnam. Too long, both of our nations have gone on seperate paths and nevercame together. However, it is the river that is made up of many connecting streams that runs the fastest and we wish to invite a representative of your country to Hanoi at your earliest convenience.

Best,
Nguyen Minh Chien"

 

[Alex]

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To: Nguyen Minh Chien From: Don Pramudwinai Dearest Minister Chien, I apologize about the late reply, the disaster that had just occurred in Bangkok required my immediate, full attention. My attention is still required in Bangkok but I will be able to send my Minister of South-Asian Affairs to Hanoi if you are ready to host him. Kindest Regards, Don Pramudwinai Minister of Foreign Affairs Rattanakosin Kingdom

@Joe

 

[Joe]

The Republic of Vietnam State Ministry would reply,

"Dear Don Pramudwinai,

We will be most pleased to host the Minister of South-Asian Affairs.

Best,
Minister Nguyen Minh Cien"

 

[Alex]

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To: Nguyen Minh Chien From: Don Pramudwinai Dearest Minister Chien, That is wonderful news! I will be sending Panas Nitaya to Hanoi via a Dassault Falcon 20. The pilot should contact the airport in Hanoi once they reach Vietnamese airspace. Kindest Regards, Don Pramudwinai Minister of Foreign Affairs Rattanakosin Kingdom

@Joe

 

[Joe]

Immediately, Hanoi would prep for the arrival of the Thai delegation. The Ministry of State Security would deploy a small army of 300 Inspectors to serve as the personal security of Panas Nitaya. Their first objective would be to secure Ho Chi Minh Memorial International Airport. The airport would be swept for any nefarious devices and the employees would be interviewed and checked rigorously for any subterfuge.

 

[Alex]

Once the airspace around Bangkok was investigated as secure, Pana Nitaya would board her Dassault Falcon 20 and depart from Bangkok towards Hanoi. Upon reaching Vietnamese airspace, the pilot of the Falcon 20 would contact the airport in Hanoi and request to land. If their request was granted, the Falcon 20 would land and Panas Nitaya would exit the plane once it was safely on the ground.

@Joe

 

[Joe]

The plane would be cleared to land. Ministry of State Security Inspectors would immediately rush out to the plane and would place a red carpet for the airstairs to the Falcon 20. At the bottom of the stairs, a luxury VinFast 2.0 would pull up. Lieutenant Minh Nguyen, the aide to the upcoming State Minister of Vietnam, would exit the car and greet Pana at the bottom.

He'd bow deeply in deference and respect. Rising, he'd salute smartly.

"Madam Nitaya," He would say. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance at last. How was the journey?"

 

[Alex]

Pana Nitaya would bow in response.

"The pleasure is all mine," she would acknowledge, "my journey was fine, thank you. Let's get this meeting underway, yes?"

@Joe

 

[Joe]

"President Ngo is prepared to meet you," Lieutenant Nguyen would respond. "Although... we are a little bit late."

He'd open the car door and escort Nitaya inside. After ensuring that her seatbelt was on, he'd climb into the front seat and would nod to the Ministry of State Security Officer driving. The car would immediately drive off towards downtown Hanoi. Rush hour traffic was over and the car was able to deftly maneuver through the thin roads. However, rather than taking a turn towards the Presidential Palace, the car would instead turn towards the Grand Opera House. The opulent French-inspired building was one of the most gorgeous landmarks in all of Hanoi and the site was considered a cultural landmark in Vietnam.

"Pardon the bizarre meeting place," Minh would laugh as the car parked out front in the plethora of luxury vehicles. He'd open the car door for Pana. "I assure you, the building is well secured."

Offering her his arm as a gentleman, he'd escort her up the steps into the Opera House. Although the performance had already begun, there was still a line to get in due to the massive amounts of security, mainly Ministry of State Security officers screening all who entered and making them go through patdowns. Due to the Lieutenant's credientials, they were able to skip the line. Quickly, he'd escort her upstairs to the private boxes. Coming across a heavily guarded door, he'd greet the Army Lieutenant standing at the front.

"Lieutenant Sai," He'd nod his head.

"Nguyen," Sai muttered through clenched teeth.

Their rivalry throughout the Service Academies was well noted. As the aide-de-camp to the Commander in Chief, President Duc Ngo, Lieutenant Sai saw Nguyen as a conniving bastard; the assistant to a lady who was dooming Vietnam with her espouses of a "third way", independence from both ISAF and the CIS. Likewise, Nguyen saw Sai as a complete coward who would rather sit on his hands than commit to action. Like every lie, the truth was merely somewhere in the middle.

Lieutenant Sai would step to the side, opening the door to the secure Opera box. Minh would smile and turn to Nitaya. "He's just inside, Madam... if there's anything you need, water, refreshments, a program... please do not hesitate to ask."

Inside the opera box, President Ngo would be sitting aside his American wife, Kristen; the two having met in Boston. In fact, they had met at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a musical house down the street from his apartment. They were both intense fans of opera and after the Communist regime had ended, First Lady Ngo had instituted a series of reforms inviting cultural phenoms around the globe to perform in Vietnam to promote cultural diversity. Under her reforms, banned books were subsidized and given away free of charge by public libraries. Access to world news and television became common. The times of the Socialist Republic were waning. Down on the stage, Andrea Bocelli and a young Vietnamese woman with a beautiful voice were giving a renedition of "Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)".

President Ngo looked behind him, seeing the Thai woman enter. "Madam Nitaya, it is a pleasure to meet you at least."

President Ngo's chair was quite something. It wasn't like the one his wife was sitting on. It was as if a common kitchen chair had wheels attached to the side. It was purposely done this way. President Ngo's disability was quite private. His wheelchair looked like a common house setting, which was what he was going for. He'd spin his wheelchair around and would extend his hand, shaking that of Nitaya. "Please, take a seat... let's discuss business!"

 

[Alex]

"I'm quite fine, thank you." She would tell Minh with a smile, entering the opera box.

After noticing the Vietnamese President, Nitaya would bow her hand as she shook his hand. "It's quite the pleasure to meet you as well, President Ngo. This is quite the meeting place, I must admit." The woman took her seat. "I thank you for the invitation, I haven't been to an opera in years, I am also honored that you would attend this meeting yourself, President Ngo."

"What is this business that we will be discussing?"

@Joe

 

[Joe]

"The pleasure is all mine. My whole family is here," He'd gesture to his wife and the stage, where his eldest daughter, Elena, was performing alongside Bocelli in the Hanoi Youth Symphony as a violinist. "Except my son... he's still in school."

He'd cock his head.

"I believe you wished to talk about security in Southeast Asia, Madam Nitaya?"

 

[Alex]

"That is true," she would acknowledge, "but after that hole broadcast of yours, I thought I should give you the chance to explain yourself along with the things that your government has said and threatened. Including the invasion of Thailand and our 'crippled government'"

@Joe

 

[Joe]

President Ngo would breathe in slightly. Kristen, his wife, would turn towards the finale of the performance with rapt attention. Although she was American, blonde and blue-eyed, she was a pure Vietnamese woman at heart. Speak softly so your enemies can't hear your curses, look pretty and frail so your enemies look past you for other targets, smile widely so your enemies are distracted enough to ignore the murderous glint in your eye, and hold a sun umbrella instead of a knife, because the bamboo of a sun umbrella could break a man's skull and it had much more reach than a knife. Know when to listen and when to speak.

"I'm pleased your government has given us a chance to explain," Ngo would say cautiously. "Linh Mach, the woman who made those comments... she is a party pundit who was looking to curry favor with the State Ministry by drawing the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs into her fold. She is a wonderful politician, but she is ambitious... too ambitious, perhaps. Her words were to try and draw the Australians closer and bring them in, but they only backfired. She is nothing but a minor diplomat, serving at a dead-end position in the General Assembly. Allow me to personally apologize for her comments."

 

[Alex]

You apologize, yet you don't deny what she said were lies. Nitaya would think to herself, this information would certainly be delivered to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra once she returned to Bangkok. Regardless, Nitaya would pretend that the President's reluctance had gone over her head and she continued on the conversation as nothing had happened.

"Well, if that's the case, we should carry on to why the Prime Minister of Thailand sent me here. The South-East Asian sphere has been the center of many conflicts, some involving your previous government and Laos and Cambodia, even Thailand at one point. But I'm hoping that after this meeting, Thailand and Vietnam will be able to overcome our past, the past which involved two different governments and move forward through the future for the betterment of all our people.

I believe, as of this moment, our greatest concern is that of this 'Formosan Ascendancy'. While their claims to the Spratly Islands does not affect Thailand directly, it does involve our closest active neighbor - you. If something were to happen between this new power and Vietnam, it would certainly affect Thailand directly and if Vietnam were to lose and 'Formosa' were to take Vietnamese territories, how long would it be before they begin pushing claims onto us?

How long would it be before other nations begin to do the same? To both of us.

Yingluck Shinawatra has sent me here on her behalf in the hopes of signing both a non-aggression pact and possibly a mutual defense pact. I understand if Vietnam would like to remain on the fence about signing a mutual defense pact, and if that's the case, it can wait. But I believe, that for both of our nations, a non-aggression pact would be of the uptmost importance. This way, we would not have to worry about each other nor about reenacting any recent history, leaving us to handle other powers such as Vietnam with Formosa.

What say you, President Ngo?"

@Joe

 

[Joe]

President Ngo would raise his eyebrow. His jaw set into a thin line. On the stage, Andrea Bocelli would finish his wonderful performance to raucous applause, drowning out the words of the President, and would immediately would onto the next song, continuing the duet with the Vietnamese singer on the stage. Despite the public air of the opera box, they were very much well protected against eavesdroppers.

"The Formosan Ascendancy is nothing more than a barking dog, forever making nose but never biting it's opponent," President Ngo would decide. "They snap and snarl, threatening harm but when the time comes to put up or shut up, they run away. Madam Nitaya, I assure you, if the Formosans move directly onto the territories of the Republic of Vietnam, we will not lose. Four thousand airborne troops only need the signal to launch onto Taipei. Forty thousand marines only require the words to launch defensive actions and reinforce the Spratly Islands. Our sailors only need the green light to deploy our ships to annihilate the fledgling Formosan Navy in sea combat. We plan for everything, Madam."

He'd shrug, pouring himself and his wife another cup of tea.

"But, if it's your Prime Minister that wishes for a non-aggression pact and a mutual defense treaty, allow me to give you a counteroffer. The National Congress has a large proportion of anti-CIS hardliners... and we can see why. Argentina moves on France. Their stance against a free Kosovo. Brazil's rhetoric on the world stage. Their support of a nation shedding democracy and turning Communist to the North? I simply convey the will of my people and that is their will. However, allow me to give you a consolation that you can give to your Prime Minister. We will gladly sign a non-aggression pact, but when it comes to the mutual defense treaty, I will give you a verbal promise that if Thailand comes under attack by the Formosans or by any rogue nation, Vietnam will gladly assist."