[Australia]: Message to Poland [SEC=TOP SECRET]

[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET​

16 February 2007

Dear Minister Gorska, With the collapse of the current French monarchy, we are now entering a new era of France returning to "normality". Frankly I view this as a good thing, France's previous regime was cozy with tyrants and dismissive of traditional western allies as well as being hostile to the South Pacific Forum. It also poses the question about the future of France's Pacific possessions, such as New Caledonia. With the French regime now gone, we can now move forward with enhancing the South Pacific Forum without fear of alienating their, at sometimes bipolar, government any further. Whilst the security situation has quelled in New Caledonia, Polish forces still remain on the island. Australia is the upholder of the South Pacific Forum and the traditional maintainer of security in the South Pacific along with our allies in New Zealand and the United States. We want to enter negotiations on the future of New Caledonia with Poland through our Ambassador in Warsaw, Mr. Patrick Lawless, and come to an agreement which will satisfy both Australia and Poland's interests in the region. Yours sincerely, Kevin Rudd.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

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ManBear

 

[ManBear]

To: Kevin Rudd, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia Owen

Subject: New Caledonia

CC: French Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Council of State Dutchy

Security: Secured and Encrypted Top Secret

Minister Rudd, Thank you for reaching out to us in regards to the ever present issue of the New Caledonia issue. With the collapse of Imperial France, a power vacuum has certainly started to form on the overseas territories of the former Empire. Especially within New Caledonia. Polish peacekeepers are resolute in maintaining peace within island territory for as long as necessary but we are eager to sit down with your government to work together to better provide peace and security for the region. I have also carbon copied the provisional Ministry of Foreign Affairs for France to keep them in the loop. They are also welcome to send an attaché to attend the meeting so their voices may be heard as well during their time of transition. Please have Ambassador Lawless come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow at noon Warsaw time so that we may have a sit down to discuss New Caledonia, the insurrectionists, and the future of the region. We will have members of the Ministry of National Defense present as well so that we may have an opinion of those who are present on the ground.

Regards, Marek Kwiatkowski Minister of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Poland

 

[Dutchy]

MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES
AMBASSADE DE FRANCE AU POLOGNE​

PRIVATE

Marek Kwiatkowski
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of Poland

Warsaw, February 2007​

Your Excellency,

On behalf of the Vice President of the Council of State, currently serving as acting head of state and leading the transition administration, I wish to express our appreciation sharing with us the latest developments on the situation in New Caledonia. In the absence of an accredited ambassador to the Kingdom of Poland, the Vice President has instructed me, in my capacity as chargé d’affaires of the French diplomatic mission in Warsaw, to represent France in these matters.

I wish to inform you that the Council of State reaffirms its commitment to duly and respectfully acknowledge the unique status of New Caledonia and the other overseas territories as it drafts a new constitution. France remains steadfast in its responsibilities and obligations to these communities.

Also, allow me to formally extend France’s gratitude to Poland and its deployed forces for their role in maintaining stability and peace in New Caledonia. Your actions are both noted and appreciated.

As France continues its transition towards establishing a government with a new democratic mandate, we remain committed to re-engaging with the international community through constructive and multilateral diplomacy. The initiative taken by the Australian Government is a welcome development, and I would be pleased to learn more about it. Accordingly, I hereby request that France be granted official participation in the upcoming meeting concerning New Caledonia, so that it may be appropriately represented and its sovereignty duly recognised.

I trust this message will serve as a foundation for a strengthened and mutually beneficial relationship between France and Poland, one that contributes to peace and prosperity across the European continent and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Jean-Philippe Bélanger
Chargé d'affaires​

ManBear

 

[Owen]

The Ambassador would depart in a Jaguar XJ from the underground carpark located underneath the Rondo 1 office skyscraper on John Paul II Avenue in Warsaw, which housed the Australian Embassy on the 8th floor. Australia had adopted an extensive policy of using office skyscrapers to house embassies in smaller European countries to save on costs.

He would head to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building which was designated as the meeting point in the letter from the Polish Foreign Minister. The vehicle would park and he would exit, making his way to reception to hopefully meet the Minister and the French Charge d'Affaires.

ManBear Dutchy

 

[ManBear]

The Australian Ambassador would arrive at the large, red slabbed building that bore the seal of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the sun reached it's highest peak overtop the Warsaw rooftops. There was no honor guard awaiting their arrival as this had been seen as a routine diplomatic discussion between Australia, France, and Poland. With the concerns of the Australians regarding New Caledonia and the fall of the Empire of France and the take over by the new French republican government, Polish governmental officials felt it was necessary to have the discussion in person at the Ministry. Upon the Australian Ambassador's arrival, a receptionist would lead him towards a medium sized conference room bearing the flags of Australia and France at an angle, flanking the Polish flag which stood straight up, on the door. Once the Ambassador was seated at the table, the receptionist would inquire as to any beverages or snacks he would like to partake in prior to the start of the conference.

Within a few minutes of his arrival the receptionist would arrive with whatever the Australian requested while also being accompanied by the Polish delegation. A deputy minister from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a couple of men bearing military uniforms who identified themselves as members of the Ministry of National Defense. After a brief exchange of pleasantries and handshakes, the Polish delegation would join the Australian at the table as the awaited the French delegation's arrival.

Owen Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

Jean-Philippe Bélanger arrived at the French diplomatic mission well before sunrise, the quiet halls echoing the current lack of staffing following recent mismanagement by the now former imperial regime. In his office, he sifted through the latest cables and press summaries, his brow furrowing at how thin his briefing package was. The dossiers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were lacking; and intelligence from Directorate General for External Security even more absent. He muttered a quiet curse under his breath—Paris had left him to walk into the day’s meeting almost blind.

He had received only a simple instruction from the Council of State, which had taken on the responsibility of steering the nation through its fragile transition: Protect the sovereignty of the Sixth French Republic.

Straightening his tie, he closed the manila folder, slid it into his weathered leather briefcase, and locked the office door behind him. Outside, the chill morning air caught his breath as he stepped to the curb. He raised a hand and hailed a taxi, instructing the driver to take him to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ride was quiet as Bélanger was deep into his own thought. When the car finally rolled to a halt before the entrance of the Ministry, Jean-Philippe stepped out, smoothed his overcoat, and made his way towards the enterance. With practiced composure, he presented his credentials, introducing himself as the French chargé d'affaires.

ManBear Owen

 

[ManBear]

The French charges d'affairs would be quickly escorted to the conference room where the Australian and Polish delegations were already sitting at. The receptionist who escorted Jean-Phillipe would ask if he required anything such as water or tea before allowing him to take his seat. The lead Police official would start the conference.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I understand the situation in New Caledonia is probably on the forefront of concerns for both of your governments, being it is a French province and it is an Island not from the Australian mainland. Let me introduce ourselves first. I am Kunegunda Ostrowska, Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Department. Accompanying me is General Jaropełk Gorski of the Ministry of National Defense, Department of the Pacific and apart of the Council responsible for handling the New Caledonia deployment. Alongside us are deputy ministers from our respective departments who can provide contextual evidence on our part for further clarification on our end. Please introduce yourselves. Once we are done, the Australian party may start the meeting."

Kunegunda would allow each of the parties to introduce themselves and allowing the Australian delegation to start the matters as they were the ones who requested the meeting in the first place.

Owen Dutchy

 

[Owen]

"Well I must say, when this meeting was requested there was a power vaccuum situation in France with the collapse of the monarchy. I am happy to see that the Republic was quickly restored and law and order has returned to France. This makes all of our lives much easier. The previous French administration was quite hostile to Australia, to the western world more broadly and was acting in a way which aligned itself with more tyrannical governments, though I must say they were comfortable with Poland because, please take this as a compliment, the Polish Government does tremendously well at building relationships with any and all nations.

The situation in New Caledonia has mellowed, thanks to the security forces of Poland restoring that order. The previous French administration was not interested in exercising that security themselves and then we had additional players thrown into the mix such as Thailand. Australia provided logistical assistance to Poland at one point as we saw them as the best security option on that island. With the situation improving, with France having a new democratic government in place, we are happy to move forward with seeing France resume full security control over New Caledonia and gradually regaining it from Poland. When the situation evolved in the first place in New Caledonia, Australia was not an active player in the region. We are now the foremost active player in the region and our Defence Force has now grown to be able to respond to a range of contingencies and crises across the Pacific. We have also developed military relations with key regional players such as the United States and New Zealand. Australia also maintains defence responsibility over those Pacific nations that do not maintain militaries such as Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands. This means if situations do arise in the Pacific, we can respond in a span of hours rather than the days it would take for French or Polish forces to respond from mainland Europe. Of course, we expect France to maintain some military forces in their Pacific possessions, but we don't expect them to have their entire army there.

Before the monarchy came into place in France, France had signed the South Pacific Forum agreements with Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. New Zealand has now also signed those agreements. We have looked for years to expand the South Pacific Forum but France was a major hurdle. Their government had threatened on multiple occassions to withdraw from the forum and so we were not eager to host any summits or push through any expansion of the forum to avoid "spooking" the French monarchy. We are open to Poland becoming an observer state of the South Pacific Forum and we are hoping that the new French administration is open to expanding the organs of the South Pacific Forum and the areas of cooperation which exist. Most of the forum's population either lives in Australia, New Zealand or in French possessions. The United States only maintains a handful of small territories and the United Kingdom.... one with a population of 50."

ManBear Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

Upon entering the conference room, Jean-Philippe Bélanger strode towards the assembled delegations, extending a hand in greeting as he introduced himself as the French Chargé d’Affaires. He expressed his thanks to the receptionist for the escort and politely requested a glass of water. Following the quick introductions, he took his seat at the table, setting his leather briefcase neatly beside him. From it, he withdrew a notepad and pen, preparing to record the key points of the upcoming discussions. Looking up, his attention settled on the Polish delegation.

After listening to the Australian opening statement, Jean-Philippe cleared his throat before speaking. “Secretary Kunegunda, allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude for the invitation to participate in these discussions. I also wish to thank Ambassador Lawless for his initiative in advancing peace and prosperity in the South Pacific.”

“While the French people have spoken and the nation is returning to a liberal democratic order, I must note that elections for a new President and legislature are scheduled to take place in the coming days. For the moment, state authority rests with the Council of State, acting in a caretaker capacity. My role here today is primarily one of fact-finding, so that I may brief the new administration once it assumes office. Nevertheless, I hope this marks the first of many discussions on our multilateral relations; relations which can only be strengthened through trust and cooperation.”

“With regard to the situation in New Caledonia, I can confirm that tensions have eased for the moment. It is the assessment of the Council of State that the policies of the former monarchist regime were a significant aggravating factor in the unrest. Like the rest of France, the territory now awaits to see the direction the incoming government will take. This does not lessen our responsibility to proceed with care, nor can I say with certainty that the unrest is over. However, the Council of State is committed to restoring constitutional order on the islands.”

“To that end, I have been authorised to express, without reservation, France’s gratitude for Poland’s peacekeeping efforts. I hope that follow-up discussions can be arranged through the appropriate military channels regarding the phased conclusion of Polish operations on French territory. May I forward General Gorski’s name to the Ministry of the Armed Forces as the appropriate point of contact?”

"On the matter of the South Pacific Forum, Ambassador Lawless, I hope you understand that I am not in a position to make any formal statements at this time. However, should you wish to see France participate in this organisation, I would be grateful if you could provide the relevant treaties and agreements. I will ensure these are transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their consideration."

ManBear Owen

 

[Owen]

"The Chirac Administration of France signed onto the South Pacific Forum agreements in 1999. Two agreements. One that established the Secretariat and one that established the Commission. So far these are the only two bodies in the South Pacific Forum, but we have drafted treaties for additional bodies to be added. As far as we're concerned, France is still a member state and under the provisions of the agreements they have never made an intention to withdraw. Once an intention to withdraw has been made to the depositary government.... us, it will come into effect one year from that notice. That is the same withdrawal provision in both agreements. Currently there are no obligations by France to be a member of the South Pacific Forum, so I would advise to maintain membership. It is a consultative body on Pacific matters at this stage. France has no obligation to sign any further agreements of the South Pacific Forum either."

Dutchy