Chapter 12: Lethal Friction (4)

  Article 4

  "Confederation of Lanfang Republic."

  The Indonesian Chinese Renaissance Party held an extraordinary national congress in Sanbao, where the party leader and President of Indonesia, Lin Guangzhao, declared to the high-level Congress with a loud and clear voice.

  More than 220 years ago, in the western part of Kalimantan (the Indonesian name for Borneo, now about two-thirds of which is Indonesian territory), the third largest island in the world, Southeast Asia gave birth to a small country founded by Chinese people - Lanfang Republic.

  Its founding president was Luo Fangbo from Mei County, Guangdong Province, China. A long time ago, many Chinese people came to Kalimantan Island in Southeastern coastal areas of China to make a living. They were mostly concentrated in the western coastal cities of Kundang working. Some planted rice, coconuts, coffee and pepper in rural areas, while others extracted oil and coal in mountainous areas.

  The local natural conditions and living conditions are extremely harsh, due to the long distance, they cannot get the care and attention of their motherland, so they were called "Tianchao abandoned people" by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

  In order to survive, they needed to unite and help each other, so they organized many "hometown associations" and later these organizations merged to form the "Republic of Lanfang" with Dongjin as its capital.

  Lo Fang Pak, due to his high cultural quality and outstanding organizational ability, enjoyed a very high reputation among the Chinese in the Kuntien area, so he was elected by people from various places who organized the same township association as their leader. In 1776, he established the "Lanfang Great Unified Republic", with this year being designated as Lanfang Year One.

  Lu Fangbo referred to some legal systems of Western countries and set up a complete administrative, legislative and judicial system. The country has a Ministry of National Defense, but no standing army, and all citizens are soldiers, scattered in various places for production in peacetime and concentrated during wartime to defend against enemies. Local areas are divided into three levels: provinces, prefectures, and counties, with the heads of local administrative organs elected by popular vote at each level.

  Lo Fang Po was the head of state for 19 years, and died in 1795. He was succeeded by Jiang Wubo, who was elected by all citizens. Seven others have held this position since then. In 1886, this small Chinese country established in a foreign land suffered an attack from the Dutch colonialist army. The people of Lanfang Republic put up a strong resistance but were ultimately defeated due to inferior weapons and the country unfortunately perished.

  "The Lanfang Republic" existed for 110 years. Today, Lin Guangzhao once again brings up the name of this long-forgotten first democratic republic in human history.

  "We must face history, before Indonesia's independence in 1945, the Dutch ruled Indonesia for over 350 years. During this period, the Dutch intentionally provoked conflicts between indigenous people and Chinese Indonesians. They came up with a divisive tactic of "divide and rule": for example, forcing indigenous people and Chinese to live separately, even separating them on public transportation, and providing slightly better living conditions for Chinese. At the same time, the Dutch colonizers granted Chinese special privileges such as operating bars, opium dens, pawnshops, and salt trading, which enriched Chinese financially but made them appear as "exploiters" in the eyes of indigenous Indonesians. The seeds of racial hatred were thus sown. This civil war is a concentrated outbreak of this racial conflict. Based on this situation, it is absolutely necessary to establish a federal republic dominated by a single ethnic group within our multi-ethnic country. As the first federal republic in Indonesian history, Lanfang Federal Republic will comprise the entire island of Java and the main Chinese settlement areas in western Kalimantan, with a population of over 27 million..."

  "This is an overt split of the motherland."

  In a dimly lit underground room in the central town of North Gambir, Sumedang Regency, a voice was screaming hysterically. Dabragi, who hadn't washed his face for several days, had now become indistinguishable from the terrorists he used to hunt down.

  "Ran Fang joined the Republic? China just likes to drag out historical issues."

  Indonesian Army Major Nangka Pino, no, it's more accurate to call him Japanese agent Takaishi Eisuke, was unusually calm.

  "Please be patient a little longer. Our government will definitely help you return to Jakarta." With the continuous support of funds and materials from the Japanese government, Uchikawa Hisataka gradually used his reputation in Dabarakis to regain his footing on Sumatra Island.

  But Uchikawa Nagataka knew better than anyone that if he relied solely on US dollars to entice these local warlords, returning to Jakarta would forever be an empty promise. "The Singapore Air Force is here again." The massive explosion sounds from the ground reminded him that even if the Chinese didn't come, their strength would absolutely not last long.

  The five-nation ASEAN coalition has become aware of their existence. In the past few days, the Singapore Air Force has begun bombing their training camps and material bases in northern Gambier. They must find a more powerful force to truly counter China and ASEAN. And perhaps this force is also eagerly seeking an opportunity to cooperate with them.

  "The Indian government should not wait any longer. Once the ASEAN governments truly control the situation in Sumatra, the door to Malacca will be closed forever. And the Lanfang Republic supported by the Chinese government in Java will become its best forward base. At that time, if India wants to compete with China for a day's dominance in the Malacca region, the strategic situation in the region will change dramatically. I'm afraid it won't be good news for India."

  In a cramped room in New Delhi, a slight Japanese diplomat was making an impassioned plea to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Gandhi.

  "Malacca is a special region, with narrow waterways and dense islands. Once China's sea-air base group is established, India's naval power will probably be difficult to operate initially. And our government's loss in the South China Sea dispute with China this time is precisely because China has a base group located in southern Vietnam..."

  Japanese diplomats continued to exaggerate the advantages that China would soon have in the Malacca region, but at this moment, Manmohan Gandhi's eyes became hollow.

  "The battle for national destiny. In the 21st century, only one country can squeeze into the ranks of world-class great powers. We and China have no other choice."

  Brand-new Russian-made fighter jets are lined up on the runway of India's forward airbase in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Meanwhile, in the streets of Banda Aceh, capital of the Islamic Republic of Aceh which has just announced its agreement to join the Democratic Republic of Indonesia, Indian Army T-72 tanks and military vehicles are rumbling along. The shadow of war is gathering over Malacca...