A Power has risen in the East ...

Day 1,253, 11:27 • Published in Belgium Belgium • by Sammy Tanghe
We have the habit of looking at Europe and considering it the most important front. The majority of all the battles are fought here, the majority of the population lingers here and the quantity of countries succeeds that of the rest of the world. Yet the most successful country, the only country that has all 10 resources at his possession and that can be called the lord and master of his neighbours, does not lie in Europe. The most successful country, gentlemen, is China.


China lies there. Beneath Mongolia, above Laos


Not only in RL is China a booming powerhouse. Also in eRepublik is the country of the Han a power not to be trifled with. Economically it is the single country in the world currently that has possession to all ten resources. Politically it is a single and undivided country, having few problems from any PTO people, simply because they can be spotted from a long distance – Chinese is tough to speak. On Foreign Affairs they are surrounded by either allies, like Russia or the USA, or by countries that could be classified as Chinese minions, like North Korea and Taiwan. And militarily the answer is simple: they know how to smash someone, just look what they did these days with the Serbians in Russia.

How is it possible that this country could achieve this status of greatness? The answer is rather simple: as a Major Power, it is alone in Asia.


Lonely … I’m so lonely … I got nobody … to beat uuuuuuuuppp, uuuupppp!

The neighbours of China’s original territories are, starting clockwise from the north, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, India and Pakistan. Off all these states, only Russia is a major power, and even one in decline. But China does not need to be afraid from Russia: Although Russia used to be a great foe in the fourth World War, Russia’s membership of TERRA guarantees in the current climate that EDEN country China, being big friends with the USA, does not have to fear an attack on his northern borders.
The weakness of the other countries allows China to be a leading country in the Far and Central Asian theatres. Having saved India from both Pakistani and Indonesian aggression, it has been able to get strategic bases in India and the valuable Rubber region of North Eastern India. North and South Korea are both minor States who prefer to cooperate with China instead of fighting the people of Beijing and they get both security and fun through this cooperation. Giving up a spare Deer and Grain region seems to be a small price then. Japan, despite being a TERRA member, once tried to expand too much at the cost of North Korea, and China retaliated, taking as price the fruit from Chugoku and the strategic location of Kyushu. With Taiwan, the relations are, despite the Real Life tensions, quite good. At this moment, the two countries are in a short war so that they both can get access to the aluminium regions from South Korea, but before that, they even shared an MPP. Speaking of aluminium, at the moment China gets that from his possessions in Pakistan, a country it once warred with but who right now is too weak to stand up against his northern neighbour.


For taking just one or two of our regions. Or four in India’s case, but they’ve got enough

Expanding thus beyond his own borders, China is able to go even further and play a role in other theatres. China has driven Indonesia out of India and Thailand, blocking the Western exit for Jakarta, and keeping bases in Thailand in order to strike should Indonesia try. China recently attempted to put some more pressure on ONE by attacking their Iranian friends and China probably saved Russia by their latest offensive against the Serbs in Russia, who managed to advance as far as Far Eastern Russia. China is strong militarily thanks to a decent population, ranking 12th on the world lists, and an also decently experienced population: China has his amount of heavy hitting tanks. But more importantly is the time: the Chinese time zone allows them to be strong when Europe and America are sleeping. In return, they get quite some support for when the people of China are sleeping. Only having as real concurrent Indonesia in the time zones, it allows China to be a very efficient ally.


We should have asked these guys when we tried to hold the Rhineland Palatinate …

Now, what is the greatest threat for China? That is a good question. The only hostile countries in the neighbourhood are Iran and Indonesia, both countries affiliated with ONE but not being member of it. Both Iran and Indonesia were once great powers, but both are now lacking in strength. Should they strike China though, then China has a very effective weapon at his disposal: 29 original regions, with additional regions available from their neighbouring supporting states. China is capable of using their territory against any invader, and the fortress Beijing complicates conquering the country even more. A foreign threat thus doesn’t look very intimidating.
The biggest threat China could face, is in fact quite simple, boredom. China has reached all resources, they have beaten back all their old oppressors, but they don’t have a true natural enemy. Indonesia considers the USA as their arch enemy, not China. China needs to get new challenges to keep his population entertained. The recent Serbian attacks was thus a welcome distraction. But being alone in Asia does give the problem of having not much to do. China will need to be able to break out in order to keep itself and his population entertained and excited. If they can’t do that, the people of China will feel themselves like being nothing more than a simple MPP, good for helping others because they themselves, they are already on top …

China, the greatest nation of Asia … just because there’s no one to stop there …


The Chinaboys at work, perhaps soon in a non-asian theatre?