The Second Great War (Pacific Resilience)

**The Second Great War** is an ongoing global war being fought in the 21st century. It involves two primary opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Eastern Powers. 74 countries and 16 unrecognized states, including the most powerful countries in the world, with over half a billion military personnel taking part in the fighting making this the largest war in history. Both sides are throwing all military and civilian resources into fighting the war. This conflict also marked the first time since the War of the First Coalition that a major foreign power successfully invaded and occupied the British Isles. The war has so far led to the deaths of millions of people with the United Kingdom sustaining the majority of civilian deaths due to the invading Soviet forces relying on heavy bombing and collateral damage both in seizing territory and to fighting partisans behind their lines.

## Background

### Dissolution of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China broke apart by the end of 1991 which marked the end of the First Cold War. The Chinese Federation and other former communist states entered economic turmoil that lasted throughout the 1990's. Under Jiang Zemin, the Chinese Federation gradually had become friendlier with the West.

### Brunei War

UPTO bombing during the Brunei War in 1999 led to heightened tensions between the West and China. Even after a treaty was signed with Indochina, there was a short but tense standoff between Chinese and UPTO troops known as the Incident at Brunei International Airport which was resolved peacefully.

### Rise of Xi Jinping

Once Xi Jinping, a former MSS officer, assumed the presidency following the retirement of Jiang Zemin, the Chinese Federation had slowly begun its recovery from economic turmoil the 1990's. Xi himself had stated that the collapse of the PRC was a mistake.

### Sino-Tibetan War (2008)

In August 2008, the Chinese military invaded the former Chinese province of Tibet. The war ended a few weeks later.

## Pre-war events

### Asia Square and the Taiwanese Revolution (2013-14)

The Asia Square was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest which began on November 21, 2013 when Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou chose to suspend the signing of the Taiwan–Asian Union Association Agreement in favour of maintaining closer ties with the Chinese Federation. The movement was initially limited to minor protests until a police crackdown led to a full-scale riot. The increasing unrest eventually led to the 2014 Taiwanese Revolution which ended with the ouster of President Ma from power.

### Invasion of Kinmen

On 20 February 2014, Chinese soldiers without insignias took over the Supreme Council of Kinmen and occupied strategic sites across Kinmen. The Chinese Federation annexed Kinmen a few weeks later. Chinese-backed separatists in Taiwan revolted against the Taiwanese government seeking to make Taiwan a province of the Federation.

### UPTO Operation Pacific Resilience

Operation Pacific Resilience was initiated by the United Kingdom in response to Chinese intervention in the internal affairs of Taiwan, mainly the War in western Taiwan as well as the annexation of Kinmen. Additional UK troops and equipment were deployed to Manchuria and South Korea, both to demonstrate solidarity with all members of UPTO and as a message to the Chinese Federation that attempting any military action to reclaim the region can only result in a far wider war.

### Yellow Sea Aerial Skirmish - 17 March 2015 (Point of Divergence)

On 17 March 2015, seven Chinese military aircraft were intercepted by two UPTO aircraft over the Yellow Sea. Despite warnings, one of the Chinese aircraft strayed into Manchurian airspace. The intruding aircraft was quickly shot down after receiving one final warning to return to international airspace. The remaining six Chinese aircraft acted almost immediately and an intense air battle commenced. The battle was swift and ended in a matter of minutes. The Chinese lost a total of three aircraft including the initial one shot down while UPTO only lost one. The surviving Chinese aircraft disengaged and returned to Fungma Island where the incident was reported.

### 2015 Chinese Invasion of Taiwan

In response to the Yellow Sea Aerial Skirmish, the Chinese Federation initiated Operation: Taiwanese Freedom on 24 March 2015 which involved an amphibious invasion of western and southern Taiwan with tens of thousands of troops backed by armoured vehicles, gunships, and fighter aircraft. The invasion forces quickly linked up with pro-Chinese separatists already fighting government troops. While UPTO and the AU didn't outright go to war with China, additional material support was sent to the Taiwanese government. The fighting lasted over one month with Chinese military forces occupying all western and southern provinces by the first week of May. The Chinese made no further advance into Taiwan; while Taipei was spared a direct assault, a number of air and cruise missile strikes were made against key targets in the capital city. An armistice was signed the following week with a demilitarized zone being established however no formal peace treaty was signed so a state of war continued to exist.

### Second Lao War (2015)

With the Second Cold War between China and the West worsening as well as Chinese Intervention in the Taiwanese Civil War, the ethnic tensions in Indochina which had been presumably resolved following the conclusion of the Indochinese Wars had begun to resurface over the following years mainly in the form of peaceful demonstrations with occasional civil disobedience. The situation intensified in early April 2015, however, when the Thai-backed Satharnrath Syam declared independence from Laos. The Lao government responded by declaring martial law and sending in the military to re-establish control of Satharnrath Syam . The Siamese fought back and the country quickly descended into civil war. The Battle of Vientiane begun almost immediately with Siamese insurgents attacking Lao government forces. The Republic of Thailand and eventually the Chinese Federation openly supported the Siamese while the United Kingdom supported the Lao government. All three countries eventually began sending troops into Laos, most notably in Vientiane.

## Prelude to War

### The Vientiane Incident

The unthinkable happened on June 7th, 2015 when UK and Chinese troops in Vientiane supporting the Lao government and the Siamese respectively had gotten into a firefight which lasted roughly thirty minutes with both sides losing several soldiers. The Vientiane Incident, which marked the first time since the Opium Wars that UK and Chinese troops fought against one another, is viewed by most historians as being the spark which would ignite the Second Great War.

### Whitefire Blunder

During counterinsurgency operations in Taipei against Taiwanese insurgents, a number of the rebels were captured. Among them were several UK nationals, primarily ex-military personnel, who were working with the Taiwanese rebels through the British private military company Blackwater, officially known as Academy. The MSS reported this to the Chinese government and it was automatically assumed that the United Kingdom was conducting a number of "off-the-books" military operations against Federation interests. Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned the United Kingdom for its acts of aggression on Chinese soil and warned Britain to "back off or else".