Time Slip Reiwa Japan

A.D.1942 - 085 - China Upheaval - 4

Dealing with the warlords was relatively straightforward. They had an independent and self-reliant spirit and strongly resented the Chinese government's interference from the distant city of Nanjing. Their anger ran deep, especially considering their ongoing forced contributions of funds and soldiers in wars with the United States and conflicts with the Chinese Communist Party. Moreover, despite their contributions, they received nothing in return. There wasn't even a victory. It was only natural for the warlords to turn their backs on the Chinese government under these circumstances.

As these conditions converged, the flames of independence in northern China were ignited by the United States and grew into a massive fire within a matter of six months.

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Notes

*1: If you consider the vast territory of China as a whole, it was divided into six parts:

1. The central and most influential power, the Chinese government.

2. The Chinese Communist Party, with a stronghold in the northwest.

3. South China, which was gradually gaining control of the southern coastal areas.

4. The Frontier Republic, located in the northeast and under the protection of the United States.

5. East Turkestan Republic, which achieved independence with support from Japan in the western part.

6. And then there was Tibet.

Tibet hadn't achieved complete independence yet, but as part of Japan's efforts to weaken China, they had been in contact with Tibetan independence groups. Japan provided various forms of support, including the supply of weapons, dispatching military instructors, and other assistance. The reason for not launching a full-scale armed uprising toward independence was largely due to Japan's diplomatic resources being depleted due to their involvement with the East Turkestan Republic.

Even though Japan was a powerful nation, supporting the complete independence and self-sufficiency of one country was not an easy or quick task. Especially the establishment of internal structures such as the bureaucracy, which would be needed for governance, was a truly challenging task. The research institutions under the intelligence organization in the Cabinet Office had reported that it would take 10 to 20 years to accomplish this. The Japanese bureaucrats dispatched to support the East Turkestan Republic were working tirelessly to pacify and earn the trust of people who might resort to power struggles and even armed conflicts beyond mere political disputes.

However, despite their efforts, the East Turkestan Republic had not yet gained full control over the region of Uighur. One reason for this was that the land route (smuggling route) through the East Turkestan Republic, which passed through the territory of the CCP and the Soviet Union, was being maintained. The only aspect progressing smoothly was the establishment of military organizations aimed at independence. This was possible because the SDF had gained experience in establishing the Siberian Republic's army, among other things. Regarding equipment, it was not limited to the outdated equipment purchased from India and other sources to contribute to India's stability. Still, they also provided Japanese-made weapons, although they weren't technically "Made in Japan."

After the incorporation of the Siberian Republic into the Japanese Federation, Japan had established extensive military factories near Vladivostok to meet the need for vast quantities of equipment, primarily geared towards countering the Soviet Union. These factories, covering an area of approximately 10 square kilometers, were far more extensive than anything on the Japanese mainland. However, once the production of equipment for the Siberian Republic's military had concluded, these factories found themselves with excess capacity. Consequently, they also undertook the production of non-sophisticated weaponry for supply to other countries, particularly developing nations.

The Type 96 wheeled armored vehicles provided to France, as well as the refurbishment and maintenance of 200 such vehicles held in reserve, were also conducted at these Vladivostok factories.

*2: The United States had information from Guam (USFJ), including a history of China spanning a hundred years. This included China's journey from a rising economic power to becoming the world's second-largest economy, their subsequent assertive behavior, and their growing confrontation with the United States. The US had concluded that China was not suitable to be a nation with which they could cooperate.

*3: Japan was using information about rare earth minerals as bait to encourage the United States to take an aggressive stance in the partition of China. By this point, Japan had established technology for recovering rare earth minerals from the seabed. Therefore, underground resources in China were not particularly attractive to Japan. Instead, Japan saw greater benefits in the United States becoming entangled in the vast Chinese territory.

There were voices in Japan advocating for Japan to establish a monopoly in Asia, where Asia was considered Japan's sphere of influence. This was a form of Pan-Asianism (Remember Imperial Japan), but the Japanese government didn't take it seriously. They understood that monopolizing interests also meant taking on all the associated troubles. In terms of troublesome matters in Asia, there were primarily two countries: the Soviet Union and China. Dealing with these two nations alone would be a situation that couldn't be expressed with the mere word "troublesome."

Japan had no intention of becoming the world's policeman for these troubles. Instead, they were more inclined to push the burden onto a cooperative nation, along with some shared benefits. This was the reason that encouraged the United States.