weeks that followed his taking office, the American President was moved when reading his predecessorâs most secret accounts of the bloodletting which had then ensued, resulting in the loss of more than half a million lives amongst which, were many innocent Chinese.
âLetâs not forget that itâs been the Chinese who have supported Suhapto thoughout his career Mr. President. There is no doubt that he has delivered the Indonesian economy to them. Banks, flour mills, steel mills, textiles, shipping, timber, property. My god, the list goes on forever!â the exasperated adviser complained. âThese days, the Indonesian-Chinese investment houses can be found anywhere one cares to look; Singapore, London, Sydney, Germany, and in most cities here in the States. Inadvertently, even weâve played a major role in their rapid growth, by permitting their powerful investment houses to penetrate the Chinese market via our own banking system.â
Alex Hastings then hesitated, not knowing just how far he should go considering the sensitive issues which had emerged over the Presidentâs past relationships with the Jakarta-based Chinese who, it had been discovered, had donated huge amounts to his earlier election campaigns.
He looked directly at his Chief to determine if he had overstepped the mark. Detecting that he hadnât, Hastings continued.
âSuhaptoâs overtures towards Beijing caught everyone by surprise, including his senior military officers who agree that this sudden shift in Indonesian politics can only benefit the Chinese. Although China has committed itself to expenditures exceeding fifty billion dollars over the next fifteen years to rebuild and expand its nuclear power facilities, their oil dependency is alarmingly high.
Chinaâs economy is growing at an amazing rate, and we can be certain that they would have considered precisely how vulnerable they would be in the event of any interruption to their oil supplies. Indonesia has archipelago status over its shipping lanes. It makes sense that China would be delighted to mend fences with them and even offer to cooperate in other areas, even if this translates into providing their neighbors with limited missile technology to boost Moslem morale.
Should this eventuate, Mr. President, the Japanese people would most probably wake up one morning to discover that China had displaced them as the major trading partner with Indonesia and, subsequently, all ten of the ASEAN member nations. This would represent the worldâs largest trading bloc, one which would continue to grow at the expense of both the European Union and our own NAFTA treaties.â This was followed by silence as those present considered the ramifications of such an alliance, and the threat of having the doors closed to a potential consumer base which approached three billion people.
âAnd Suhaptoâs sudden infatuation with these militant Moslem groups, how does this fit in?â the President left the question hanging for either of the two senior officers to respond.
âWe have a man inside the Mufti Muharam hierarchy who has confirmed that the Palace has agreed to the proposed shift in policy, one which will provide both the major Islamic groups with a substantial voice in future government. Our source is emphatic that the Palace has agreed to support radical changes in its position relating to minority religious groups, preventing the further spread of non-Moslem teachings. It seems that the aging President senses his end might be near, and is influenced by his approaching demise.
In short, we might be witnessing the beginnings of an Indonesian sectarian state. Ever since Madame Suhapto passed away, the old man has turned much of his attention to studying the Koran, and has spent considerable time with senior members of the Islamic community, both in Indonesia, and the Arab states during recent Haj journeys to Mecca.â
He paused for
âLetâs not forget that itâs been the Chinese who have supported Suhapto thoughout his career Mr. President. There is no doubt that he has delivered the Indonesian economy to them. Banks, flour mills, steel mills, textiles, shipping, timber, property. My god, the list goes on forever!â the exasperated adviser complained. âThese days, the Indonesian-Chinese investment houses can be found anywhere one cares to look; Singapore, London, Sydney, Germany, and in most cities here in the States. Inadvertently, even weâve played a major role in their rapid growth, by permitting their powerful investment houses to penetrate the Chinese market via our own banking system.â
Alex Hastings then hesitated, not knowing just how far he should go considering the sensitive issues which had emerged over the Presidentâs past relationships with the Jakarta-based Chinese who, it had been discovered, had donated huge amounts to his earlier election campaigns.
He looked directly at his Chief to determine if he had overstepped the mark. Detecting that he hadnât, Hastings continued.
âSuhaptoâs overtures towards Beijing caught everyone by surprise, including his senior military officers who agree that this sudden shift in Indonesian politics can only benefit the Chinese. Although China has committed itself to expenditures exceeding fifty billion dollars over the next fifteen years to rebuild and expand its nuclear power facilities, their oil dependency is alarmingly high.
Chinaâs economy is growing at an amazing rate, and we can be certain that they would have considered precisely how vulnerable they would be in the event of any interruption to their oil supplies. Indonesia has archipelago status over its shipping lanes. It makes sense that China would be delighted to mend fences with them and even offer to cooperate in other areas, even if this translates into providing their neighbors with limited missile technology to boost Moslem morale.
Should this eventuate, Mr. President, the Japanese people would most probably wake up one morning to discover that China had displaced them as the major trading partner with Indonesia and, subsequently, all ten of the ASEAN member nations. This would represent the worldâs largest trading bloc, one which would continue to grow at the expense of both the European Union and our own NAFTA treaties.â This was followed by silence as those present considered the ramifications of such an alliance, and the threat of having the doors closed to a potential consumer base which approached three billion people.
âAnd Suhaptoâs sudden infatuation with these militant Moslem groups, how does this fit in?â the President left the question hanging for either of the two senior officers to respond.
âWe have a man inside the Mufti Muharam hierarchy who has confirmed that the Palace has agreed to the proposed shift in policy, one which will provide both the major Islamic groups with a substantial voice in future government. Our source is emphatic that the Palace has agreed to support radical changes in its position relating to minority religious groups, preventing the further spread of non-Moslem teachings. It seems that the aging President senses his end might be near, and is influenced by his approaching demise.
In short, we might be witnessing the beginnings of an Indonesian sectarian state. Ever since Madame Suhapto passed away, the old man has turned much of his attention to studying the Koran, and has spent considerable time with senior members of the Islamic community, both in Indonesia, and the Arab states during recent Haj journeys to Mecca.â
He paused for
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