ADVENT: History
The Entrance of China
"The time for neutrality has ended."
- President Qin Yijung, of the People's Republic of China
Official statement released by ADVENT regarding the military alliance between China and ADVENT
Today ADVENT is pleased to announce the formation of a military alliance between ADVENT and the People's Republic of China in order to further combat the threat of the Ethereal Collective and their continued assault on our species. This marks a major step in the fight for Earth, as more and more nations realize that this war is much larger than one country or authority, it concerns the entirety of our species.
At this moment ADVENT is coordinating with Chinese military forces to conduct operations to liberate Japan from alien control, and in the spirit of our alliance, we have allowed them to take command of this operation, while ADVENT will provide support in the form of information, supplies, and special forces.
As a result of the agreements from both our representatives, and those from China, they will receive a fair share of the salvage fro the conflict, and further and more permanent agreements regarding the sharing of resources as the war continues will be released in the coming days. We can confirm that ADVENT will continue to retain full control over any highly exotic alien material or psionic equipment.
In the coming days ADVENT hopes to continue negotiations with China and further expand on previous diplomatic issues that have long been avoided by previous countries, especially those related to the South China Sea, the independent nation of Taiwan, the documented suppression of Tibet, and the increasing pressure on the autonomous state of Hong Kong. It is with hope that ADVENT wishes all parties to come to fair and conclusive agreements in the spirit of focusing on the alien threat.
ADVENT also hopes that this will serve as a revelation for others who have yet to participate in the war, that regardless of differences of nationality, ideology, or politics, that the threat of the aliens is one that threatens all, not simply a few. China has taken this step towards alliance, and that is to be commended, and we hope to see others soon follow suit.
- Chancellor Saudia Vyandar
- Commander Laura Christiaens
- Chief Diplomat Firdaus Hassan
- Minister Kyong Suk-Chul
- Chief Overseer Keith Watkins
- Director Elizabeth Falka
The surprise announcement of the ADVENT-China alliance was something that shocked journalists and pundits all over the world. Prior to this, the relationship between ADVENT and one of the last powers of the old world could be described as frosty at best. ADVENT had originally threatened major sanctions on the country after China aggressively rejected any idea of union when ADVENT itself was originally unveiled.
However, both sides largely and more quietly backed down as ADVENT began focusing on the alien invasion and China withdrew to internal affairs and became heavily isolated from the outside world. ADVENT did, and is still planning, to begin the arduous process of becoming independent of Chinese products, but they are not as public about it as they initially were.
China itself has had a hand in the war from almost the very beginning, as reports came to light about their support for the XCOM project, and indeed, several soldiers were part of the paramilitary organization, and they withdrew their support for unknown reasons, which are rumored to be clashes between China and the Commander of XCOM.
However, they do appear to have retained a limited relationship with XCOM itself, with the Commander revealing that there are several current Chinese soldiers serving within XCOM. It is unknown how the recent alliance will impact Chinese-XCOM relations, but it is unlikely to hurt it.
Returning to the present day, there had been speculation over the past week that ADVENT was engaged in high-level diplomacy with a major non-ADVENT power. Such speculation included the European Union, or what remains of it, China, and even the newly formed Sovereign African States. While the latter was highly unlikely, based on history, it seemed like the EU was the most obvious choice, even though almost all representatives (With the exception of the SAS) refused to confirm or deny one way or another.
Thus, when it was revealed that China had not only come to an agreement with ADVENT, but was also launching a military operation to reclaim Japan, it shocked the world. Rarely has such decisive diplomacy been conducted, and in such a short period of time. There is rampant speculation that this has been continuing far longer than the past week.
There is, of course, no evidence to support this, but it is questionable how quickly this has come together. While China and ADVENT share many qualities, there are major ideological differences between them that both Chancellor Vyandar, and President Qin have acknowledged. Their stated core value is the preservation of humanity.
Now that this alliance is public, it is clear that the geopolitical situation has changed once more. China was not estimated to enter the war itself unless directly threatened, and thus their entrance is going to have severe ramifications for the world at large. While they have not joined ADVENT, supporting them is more than most non-ADVENT nations have done, much less participating in joint military operations.
President Qin in his initial speech issued a thinly veiled criticism of the critics of ADVENT, most notably the European nations who had refused to participate, and to a limited degree, other powers in Africa such as the SAS. While such criticism has been deflected by European media, it is quite curious to not hear European leaders confront the accusation themselves, and attempts to gather direct responses have resulted in failure.
It is clear that the EU is rattled by this latest development, and there has for some time been a growing divide between the governments and the people. Recent surveys and polls have indicated growing support for joining the war, and nearly a quarter of citizens actually support joining ADVENT, whereas the EU itself still wants to distance itself from ADVENT.
As a result, it does not seem a stretch to indicate that China's entrance will only facilitate the final collapse of the EU, as countries leave of their own free will due to public pressure. The loss of Germany and France was devastating, and if the UK or Italy soon depart as well, it will be cheaper and easier for the EU to disband than suffer a slow and humiliating death.
Militarily, China boasts the single largest army of any one nation. Previous numbers have estimated its numbers to be around two million, but more recent numbers have indicated that China's aggressive recruiting efforts have bolstered that number to between four and ten million. Much like ADVENT, it is likely that the higher end of this estimate is more likely due to the circumstances and high population count.
This will give ADVENT a significant numbers advantage, or at least a reserve pool to pull from especially in the East. It remains to be seen how involved China will become in ADVENT military operations, but if they are involved in the liberation of Japan, ADVENT likely had little qualms about allowing them elsewhere, which could certainly include areas in the western hemisphere.
What also has yet to be determined is how ADVENT will, if at all, handle the various diplomatic issues and hurdles China itself presents. ADVENT has already formally recognized Taiwan as an independent nation, and given them full protections. While normally a diplomatic mountain, China has appeared to overlook this previously considered slight. It is unknown if they have written it off, or are simply waiting for an opportunity to broach the subject.
The internal issues of China are also something that ADVENT has not specifically addressed, particularly those concerning Tibet and Hong Kong. The previous history of ADVENT indicates that they would be supportive of these regions retaining their limited independence from China, but if that has been discussed by them, it has not been made public.
It is possible that in light of larger matters, such discussions have not been addressed yet, and if so, it might eventually lead to severe disagreements in this alliance between the two superpowers. However, it is clear that none of this will be known for sure until some time has passed. All that is known is that the dynamics of power have once more shifted, and both this era and war have entered new phases.
- "Ramifications on the Chinese Entrance into the Alien War" Editorial by Allison Wake of the New York Times
Battlemaster,
Due to the surprise introduction of China into this war, I feel it prudent to spend some time discussing the Chinese military itself, especially as it is likely to continue improving and taking a larger role in the war. I have also authorized operations into China, since we mistakenly believed that they were an issue that could be handled at a later date. This is clearly not the case any longer.
There are several different components of the Chinese military I have been able to determine from the reports. They will be detailed as follows:
1. Military Size: One of the most notable components of the Chinese military is its sheer size. The original numbers prior to our invasion were just over two million, and over the past half year China has been steadily recruiting and growing their military to extremely high and overwhelming numbers.
While we don't know the full and current numbers, it is estimated that there may be as many as ten million Chinese citizens that have been drafted into the military. I want to emphasize that not all of them are soldiers, but also are composed of support staff, engineers, logistics personnel, and roles of that nature.
Even with that generous estimate, we can say without any kind of doubt that China has far more than two million soldiers. This is a country with over one billion citizens. Leveraging just a fraction of the population is all that is needed to overwhelm most of our military forces on Earth. While even China's numbers don't match our own, since the majority of ours are in Mutons, that is not as large an advantage as we might have previously thought.
2. Military Tactics: As their numbers give them a large advantage over opponents, it is not surprising that they would consider overwhelming force as their primary method of attack. China does not appear to care as much for the individual soldier as ADVENT or XCOM does, and as a result they do not necessarily have issues with ordering suicide missions or sacrificing soldiers by the hundreds.
With that said, with the development of their battlefield intelligence, they have become much more effective in where and when they deploy their own soldiers. This will be elaborated on below.
3. Armor: It is at best, a very poor version of standard ADVENT armor. The major differences are that, based on what we could recover, Chinese soldiers have far greater network range and capability, allowing communication from hundreds of miles away, and their suits are EMP resistant.
This is clearly to never lose communication with their battlefield intelligence, and to that degree it can be considered superior to ADVENT. However, the armor itself is made out of cheap Earth metals and plastics, provides far less protection than ADVENT armor, and won't even hold up against one plasma bolt.
4. Weaponry: Knockoffs of ADVENT tech. They have developed some primitive and cheap gauss weapons, which are less effective than real ones, fall apart fairly easily and have a host of other issues that make replacing them mandatory. They can be manufactured quickly and cheaply, but this is a case where, as the Humans say, "You get what you pay for."
They have also developed limited laser technology, which is only capable of being fired when connected to massive power sources. There are no hand-held laser weapons, and all Chinese laser tech is installed on naval crafts or some aircrafts. It is powerful, but highly limited in where it is used, and even then it cannot be fired with any amount of regularity.
5. Technology: China was apparently the one to recover the CODEX on the Dreadnought fragment. We had assumed previously that either XCOM had recovered it, or it was destroyed in the crash due to nothing of that nature appearing in XCOM itself. This is clearly not the case, and as China was the one to recover it, would explain why it has taken so long to reappear.
If it isn't clear, this is very bad.
That China has managed to adapt the CODEX for their own needs, and in such a fashion means that we are now suddenly in a position of tactical inferiority. What footage we could recover indicated that Chinese soldiers were somehow able to coordinate a full invasion of Japan with a level of precision that should not be possible, and is only feasible with a CODEX system.
I would imagine even ADVENT would not fare well against them, but that is beside the point. China knows they can't hold onto this now that the secret it out, and we should expect copycat (And likely improved) systems shortly, but that is another topic. The point is that China has a technological advantage over us, and should be neutralized as soon as possible.
6. Implications of ADVENT/Chinese Alliance: Aside from another army, and significant influence over the last superpower of the Old World, ADVENT is almost assuredly going to acquire CODEX technology, and knowledge on how to successfully put it together. This would ordinarily be a significant disaster since we are not prepared to counter a battlefield intelligence, but the debut of Aegis puts some things into perspective.
Politically, this is almost certainly going to force Europe to either enter the war formally, or join ADVENT. Public sentiment is against neutrality now, and expecting the EU to remain as such is not likely. ADVENT is going to emerge from this far stronger, and that is something we should all be concerned about.
7. Implications for XCOM: At minimum XCOM is likely going to incorporate the battlefield intelligence into their own programs, and with the information Aegis has likely given them, I think they will be able to do it far better than the Chinese. The good news is that this isn't a full AI, but knowing the Commander, it is only a matter of time before they consider that, if they aren't doing it already.
I can also predict that the number of Chinese soldiers in XCOM will rise, despite the rocky history between XCOM and China. They appear to be putting the past behind them, and China seems to intend to do the same. However, I suspect that the Commander won't be happy with China since he has to have figured out how the Chinese developed this intelligence.
8. Means of curtailing them: Prior to recent events, I would recommend that China be dealt with immediately. That should be our priority when the situation within the Collective is dealt with regardless. China is technologically inferior, and dedicated intelligence ops can ensure that their battlefield intelligence is dealt with before any ground invasion.
I would also highly recommend that a large percentage of their population be culled. The Humans have proven they are capable of fighting us, and we cannot afford to hold back. The Sectoids have been working on such programs, and I believe China would be an excellent testing ground for such bioweapons.
I understand you are averse to this method of warfare, but China must be punished for their actions. Otherwise more countries will simply follow suit, and that cannot be allowed.
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary
Internal memo distributed to the Internal Council shortly after the Liberation of Japan.
By now I suspect the vast majority have read Patricia's own report on what she managed to learn about the Chinese Tiāngōng Program. While it is commendable that China is now taking part in the defense of humanity, the fact that they have developed this without the knowledge of either ourselves or ADVENT is an issue.
The reasons are likely straightforward: China needs something to remain relevant, and with psionics forbidden and resources limited, AI research is something that neither we nor ADVENT have aggressively pursued. This is not necessarily worthy of condemnation. China does not wish to be assimilated, and it is understandable they would seek ways to mitigate this issue.
However, where that reason does not hold up is that the Tiāngōng Program is one that is based on, or a modification of a fully functional CODEX system which was recovered from the Dreadnought. Our initial teams missed this, and I suspect China found it after they had free reign with the tampered ruins.
With that said, there was a clear agreement between XCOM, and the Council at the time that XCOM was to be the spear of humanity and the first line of defense. It was understood that XCOM would gain immediate access to all resources that could assist us in pursuit of this goal. China, it seems, treated this more as a suggestion than a binding agreement.
That is not acceptable.
As a result, China must be appropriately reprimanded for keeping this level of technology out of our hands for so long. It is one thing to keep a copy for themselves, but another to withhold it entirely. This cannot and will not be overlooked by XCOM, and I am preparing to ensure that China is handled appropriately with the following directives:
EXPLANATION FOR THE WITHHOLDING OF TECHNOLOGY: This will be conducted by myself, Central Officer Jackson, and Overseer Trask with President Qin and whoever he wishes to bring with him. While his reasons can likely be predicted, before we do anything it is imperative that we at least allow the Chinese to give their reasons for why they withheld such technology from us.
Should he be amenable to reconciliation, the following non-negotiable conditions will be given:
IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO TIANGONG PROGRAM AND SYSTEM: China will allow us to send our own scientists and technicians to inspect and review the system and infrastructure to see how it is put together and given a full list of its capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. This will be accompanied by psionic overseers, XCOM Intelligence agents, and however many soldiers Vahlen and Shen deem appropriate. Numbers and personnel will be determined by Raymond Shen, as this is his purview.
FULL ACCESS TO SOURCE CODE AND ALL COMPONENTS OF CONSTRUCTION: Once the above step is completed, we will take with us the entirety of the source code, and a complete list of components and instructions for being able to fully and completely replicate the Tiāngōng program, and there will be several Chinese technicians on standby in case there are any issues. I'm certain you can see the usefulness of such a program, especially for the development of JULIAN. In the meantime, having used this in the field, it could be useful as-is for our own soldiers, with several improvements of course.
IF MET WITH NONCOMPLIANCE: There is the possibility China will refuse the demands. In that case, the response will be simple. XCOM Intelligence will perform a psionically assisted operation where all files and components related to the Tiāngōng Program will be acquired, all personnel responsible for maintaining and designing the intelligence will be psionically interrogated and have their minds wiped of the information needed to successfully run and maintain it.
We do not need to destroy it, as it will likely prove more useful working than destroyed, despite China's underhandedness in acquiring it. However, XCOM Intelligence will periodically send agents intermittently to check on them and ensure that they are not developing it in a way that is unexpected or dangerous. If that is discovered, the intelligence may be destroyed.
It is likely China will attempt to either denounce or discredit us as a result. If President Qin insists on doing that, we can easily respond by targeting members of his inner circle. Warning will suffice the first time. Should China continue to be a problem, they may be executed. We should make every effort to demonstrate to China that refusing to comply is a bad idea for them. They chose their selfishness over allowing us to handle this technology, and that is something that must be punished.
This response will begin within the week.
- The Commander of XCOM