Chinese Embassy Crisis

[Joe]

Background: Amid the 1995 Midterm Elections, the Labor Party had fully consolidated the First National Congress on a platform of pledging to combat communism domestically and abroad. University students and the people of Vietnam took to the streets of Hanoi to protest the presence of what they viewed as Chinese imperialism. More specifically, university students organized what became to be known as the March of 400,000 Hanoians onto the Chinese Embassy, with the intent on ejecting them from the country through any means necessary.

President Ngo, the young President in the throes of his first term, had finally met his first quasi-international crisis. With the Supreme Court of the Republic calling any form of military intervention domestically unconstitutional and illegal, and with President Ngo unwilling to stomach any form of conflict with his neighbors to the North, the President told the Chief of Hanoi Police to quell the protests through any means necessary. A riot police commander, panicked by the hostility of the protesters, ordered his men to open fire on the crowd with live ammunition around half a kilometer from the embassy. This incident only spurred even more unrest in Hanoi.

Current Status: Violent protesters continue to march onto the Chinese Embassy, intent on evicting the Chinese Ambassador and his staff from the country through what appears to be violent means. The Republic of Vietnamese Military are unable to assist, constitutionally barred from taking part in any domestic conflict. While the Constitution does allow for the military to intervene under extraordinary means, whether or not the military will come and aid a country they see as rivals is a question that no one can answer. The Hanoi Police Department, once the pride of the country, are in shambles, disorganized, and will be unable to prevent the masses of Vietnamese citizens from breaching the walls of the Embassy should it come to it. Whether the situation escalates will be the decisions of all the parties involved.

 

[Alex]

As the protests became violent and the protesters turned their attention to the Chinese embassy in the capital of Vietnam, the eleven soldiers stationed there would do their best to fortify the area. The fence and gate surrounding the building would serve as a perfect first line of defense; the walls stood at six feet high at its lowest, the gate was a strong metal which the Chinese had blocked from the inside with a small car, and the walls bore fencing which would surely cause injury to anyone attempting to climb over. However, if the protesters attempted to break in, this would not stop them, not with their numbers. Therefore, as a second line of defense, the Chinese had used some furniture to blockade the windows and the doors to assure that nothing could be thrown into them, especially not molotovs or any other fire or explosive devices. As the last line of defense, the soldiers had been stationed at gun ports in the windows facing the main gate and a soldier was stationed on the roof with a sniper rifle.

Armed with QSZ-92 pistols, QBZ-95 sub-machine guns, Type 81 assault rifles, Type 81 LMGs, and a QBU-88 sniper rifle, the Chinese embassy defense troops would stand guard and while lethal shot was authorized, they were not to shoot unless attempts to enter embassy grounds were successful.

In the mean time, Ambassador Li Jiazhong would use an encrypted line to contact his superior who in turn would contact the President of the People's Republic. The President was informed of the current situation: the embassy was in imminent danger from Vietnamese protesters and needed immediate extraction or needed for the protests to be quelled.

In response, Hu Jintao would use an encrypted line of his own to contact his Vietnamese counterpart and discuss the situation.

@Joe

 

[Joe]

In the Situation Room at the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the staff were in complete turmoil. While information on the ground was incredibly spotty and unreliable, the fact of the matter was: the situation was incredibly real and had already taken numerous lives. On the wall was a projector of a satelite map of Hanoi, zoomed in on the embassy. The wall was marked up with black expo marker, demarcating the potential ground exit routes of Embassy staff. The American-educated President Ngo watched the chaos inside the room, completely shell-shocked.

Secretary Phi Nguyen, the Secretary of Defense, was making his own calls in the room, preventing the military from executing any executive decisions on intervening. Savvy and born a staunch anti-communist, he was seizing on the opportunity to get back at China, consequences be damned. And, there was little the President could do about the extremely popular warhawk that he had as the head of the Department of Defense.

"Mr. President," The President's Aide-De-Camp said, the young Cadet Sai, running up to him. He handed him a telephone. "The Chinese Premier is on the line."

"Mr. President!" Secretary Nguyen said. "I recommend that you do not pick up that phone."

"Phone, sir." Cadet Sai said urgently. "Please, answer it."

"Yes... yes," President Ngo murmured. He took the telephone, speaking into it. "President Hu, this is Ngo speaking."

 

[Alex]

President Hu would signal with his hand and the room would go quiet, the many ministers and generals waiting and listening with nervousness.

"President Ngo," Hu would address him, "I just got off the phone with my Ambassador in Hanoi. He tells me that there are protests in your capital. Protests by protesters who turned violent when your men used deadly force against them. And now, because of this, they have turned their attention to the Chinese Embassy and forced my people to fortify and prepare for a siege scenario. I've also seen these protests in the news, which have made my Ambassador's statements factual."

As he spoke he watched on the television the current protests in Hanoi; thousands upon thousands of protesters turning to the streets, many of which made their way to the Chinese embassy. All the while preaching anti-Chinese and anti-communist protests and propaganda. The Vietnamese government and military adding only to the fire and from what he could see, currently not doing anything about it.

"So I have called you, President Ngo." He would continue after a momentary pause. "And I will ask you one question: What is your government's plan to assure that my people remain unharmed?"

@Joe

 

[Flying Damascas]

The Syrian Arab Federal Republic would open express it's condemnation of the Vietnamese people's decision to protest the presence of Chinese diplomatic officials in their country and would offer to aid the Chinese in any possible way via Syria's embassy in Hanoi against Vietnamese provocations.

At a press conference in the capital Damascus, President Al-Assad expressed his solidarity with China by uttering the following words:

"it is rather disgusting to see our Chinese brothers and sisters being thrown to the wayside by a host country willing to actively permit and incite the public to violence against the diplomatic officials of a civilised nation such as The People's Republic of China. "

 

[JakeDorent]

The Empire of Brazil would condemn the Violent Nature of the Protest. the Prime Minister of Brazil, João Cardoso Filho would comment on the situation with the following words: "While the Vietnam people are free to express themselves, Doing so with Violent means, damages their cause. I am hopeful that a peaceful resolution is reached between both parties. We have to remember, Vietnam is free to consider who is their ally, and who isn't."

The Brazilian Embassy in Hanoi would offer to assist the Brazilians within the Country and those who wish to seek refuge from the violence of the Protests.

 

[Joe]

Goddammit... President Ngo wanted to shout. Of course, it was a mistake to send Dangtran off to San Marino, now when he needed his counsel the most. Attorney General Dangtran was his closest friend and adviser, an old college roommate from his time in America. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was widely considered by the organized crime bosses to be President Ngo's personal attack dog.

"President Hu," Ngo said smoothly. "You can be rest assured that... ah... we are doing our best to mitigate the situation. However, there are certain complications that I'm sure you are aware about... our Constitution bans the armed forces from taking part in domestic affairs and the Hanoi Police are scattered about. We're currently planning to... extract... the Ambassador and take him somewhere safe. Might I suggest you inform your embassy to go into lockdown procedures?"

 

[Connor]

The Government of Sweden has declared support to the Peoples Republic of China when places of safety, such as a diplomatic mission, are disrespected and violated; in addition the Swedish Security Service has been commissioned to monitor the situation continuously whilst the events are developing. In order to ensure security of Swedish nationals abroad the Department of Foreign Affairs has declared sanctuary and immediate evacuation to any Swedish nationals risking life, limb or property as a result of the protests.

A very brief statement is provided by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in passing the press:
"The Vietnamese Government must be held to account for the actions of their civilians and cover all costs incurred by the Chinese Government. Diplomatic Missions are places of safety. This is an absolute violation."

 

[Suvorov]

Prime Minister Hasimoto appeared on national television declaring support for the People's Republic of China. In his statement, the Prime Minister said, "...it is with great sadness that I see our neighbors at odds. The people of Vietnam and China should be in harmony. It is a tragedy that the Vietnamese people feel so strongly about the presence of the Chinese Embassy. While the grievances of the Vietnamese people that brought about this demonstration should be explored, under no circumstances should violence be resorted to against the Chinese government or her people. This is especially true for embassies, where international coordination and peace begins. We invite the governments of China and Vietnam to amicably resolve this crisis and we offer our aid to serve as a third party mediator if necessary..."

 

[Alex]

President Hu could hear the slight pause as the Vietnamese President 'reassured' him. "My embassy is already in lock-down, barricaded, and prepared for a siege. I've given them the authorization to protect the ambassador at all costs, which includes lethal shot. With that said, I believe that neither of us want it to get to that point, so let's work together to get my people out of there and put this... complication, behind us.

The People's Liberation Air Force has two Mil Mi-8 helicopters stationed in Nanning. With your authorization I can have them fly to the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, land, and get my people out of there and fly them back to China. I am not intending on waiting in my office for your uncontrolled citizens to break into my nation's embassy and assault my people, so unless you have a plan that doesn't involve waiting around, I believe we should go along with mine as soon as possible."

@Joe

 

[Joe]

President Ngo looked up at Secretary Nguyen, who immediately shook his head no.

"Mr. President," He explained hurriedly. "Any attempt by the Chinese to send their own troops to Vietnam will only exacerbate the situation and make it worse. I highly advise that we send in the D.S.S."

The Diplomatic State Security Service were the Department of State's law enforcement arm. Charged with defending Vietnam's diplomats, they were, for lack of a better term, cowboys. Shoot first, redact the questions later. Despite this however, they were efficient and effective. Although they had similar training regimes and requirements to the elite Vietnamese Army Rangers and Special Forces, instead of prioritizing independence in the field, they were known for their grim and docile demeanor, chosen for their ability to protect their charges at all cost. They would protect the Chinese Ambassador and retrieve him if sent, surely, but at what cost?

Ngo decided right away.

"Mr. President," President Ngo said. "We will send our Diplomatic Security Service in to retrieve your ambassador in a helicopter. Have him and his family come to the top of the embassy and await rescue."

 

[Alex]

Hu would remain silent for a moment.

"Very well, but this operation by your... DSS, considering this involves not only Chinese citizens but one of our Ambassadors, my government expects to be given all of the information related to it in real time. Any problems that arise, I expect to know about them. I also expect your DSS to make multiple rotations to assure that not only the Ambassador and his family are safely removed from the Embassy but also all of the staff and the security guards currently stationed there.

Is that suitable?"

@Joe