by Ian W Taylor
CHAPTER EIGHT
THURSDAY - YELLOW WATER
Jake slept fitfully during the night, awoke at 6 a.m. and decided on a quick walk around the grounds of the hotel before going to breakfast. While finishing breakfast he saw Saito come into the restaurant and waved. Saito beamed with delight at the sight of Jake and sat down opposite him. They discussed the conference and Saito seemed ebullient about the prospects of getting an agreement. Jake was gratified that Saito had been allocated to the same Joint Working Group on Market Access.
The Australian delegation re-convened in its conference room at 8 a.m. Anna Sentoro, Jenny Antrim and Robert Connell were all there surrounded by Australian officials. Sentoro started off by emphasising the importance of breaking the impasse in the trade talks and passed over the meeting to Jenny Antrim. Jenny outlined the progress made overnight and set out the issues on a large whiteboard.
The morning was to be taken up by Joint Australia-Japan Working Groups on the major issues, each of which would report after lunch to the Plenary Session headed by the two P.M.s . If the negotiations were completed successfully, the P.M.s would jointly sign the agreement at a press conference in the afternoon.
The delegates rose and went to their respective working groups to continue the talks with their Japanese counterparts. Jake was pleasantly surprised that his group disposed of most of the issues one by one and by 11.30 a.m. the negotiations had gone as far as they could. Jake and Saito had played an influential part in achieving compromises within their respective delegations. The main stumbling block in the Market Access Group was the phase-out period of tariffs in Japan on imports of Australian agricultural products; the Japanese delegation wouldn’t agree to anything less than a ten year phase out period. This would be left to Ministers to sort out given the political implications.
One by one each of the Australian leaders of the working groups returned with agreed outcomes. Anna Sentoro marked the issues off on the whiteboard as the leaders reported back.
By midday the Working Groups had concluded their work with 90% of the issues resolved. Apart from the agricultural imports phase-outs, the remaining unresolved issues were the Australian restrictions on foreign ownership of uranium mining, the tariff issue on imports of Japanese automotive and auto parts into Australia and the submarine contract.
Both sides retired for lunch and agreed to reconvene for the plenary session at 2 p.m.
As Jake walked over to the lunch venue he was tugged on the arm by John Carstairs.
“Come with me Stafford,” Carstairs commanded.
Jake nodded and followed Carstairs into the bar area where Jim Williams was waiting for them. They sat down on some lounge chairs.
Jake looked at them seeing consternation on their faces.
“What’s up?”
“You getting involved with those protesters is what,” said Williams.
“You were seen talking to those aboriginal activists at the mine on Tuesday and we heard you were talking to one of the ringleaders of the riot at the Jabiru Police Station last night. Can you explain what you’re up to? ”
Jake patiently explained the reason for his initial contact with Barry and for his visit to the police station the previous night.
Neither of them looked convinced at his explanation. Carstairs said, “You could be in serious trouble over this Jake. Barry Buckstone is seen as a troublemaker over the mine opening and one of the instigators of the riot.”
“That’s not what I heard from Buckstone or Sergeant Barker who was there. The sergeant reckons there were other instigators who started throwing rocks. Video surveillance at the mine will tell you who the real culprits are.”
“We’ll check that but I want a written report on your involvement by tonight. We’ll have to inform Ambassador Connell. There’s a good chance that you’ll be sent back home on this and receive a reprimand.”
“That’s crazy. I’m an innocent bystander on this. But for my intervention there could be another black death in custody case. The guy was lying on the floor unconscious when I visited him.”
“Jesus, the last thing we’d want is the media to find out about this with the P.M. about to launch the opening of the mine,” stated Williams. “You’d better keep your mouth shut.”
Jake was starting to get angry. “I’ve got no intention of telling anyone about this but you’d better be careful about your accusations.”
“All right, we’ll keep this to ourselves for the moment - but I still want your report by tonight.”
Jake walked off fuming to join the Australian delegates for lunch. He never had much time for people from the intelligence agencies who seemed to overreact to the slightest hint of subversive activities. He could understand their concern about security, given recent bombings in Australia carried out by individual Islamic State extremists that had resulted in the death of a number of innocent Australians - but their approach was often closer to paranoia rather than a realistic assessment of threats.
In his hotel room, Prime Minister Murray hung up the telephone. He had just completed calls to the chairmen of some of Australia’s major corporations including Toyota Australia, the Australian Shipyard Corporation and Energet and was pleased with their responses to his requests.
Before joining Parliament, Murray had a successful career in business and had made a fortune after selling his information technology business. He was recruited by the Liberal Party in Melbourne and had moved rapidly up the ranks of Parliament drawing on his business acumen and demonstrating strong leadership in devising policies that would appeal to the voters. When the Party was in opposition, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet and eventually elected Leader of the Opposition. He won his first election four years ago, largely thanks to a dysfunctional Labor Government which was riven by factional in-fighting. In his first term as Prime Minister he had managed to steer the economy through a growth period as well as introduce a number of social and economic reforms. However, the Liberal Party had just scraped in at the last General Election a year ago but was now behind in the popularity polls because of poor statistics on the economy, a number of broken promises and gaffes from some of his ministers. Recently he had faced a challenge from within his own party from Malcolm Crichton who was then Deputy Leader of the Party and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, the day before the vote for the leadership, the National newspaper broke a story about Crichton’s interests in a mining development which showed a clear conflict of interest and he was forced to withdraw his challenge. Murray then called on the party to vote on the deputy leadership and encouraged Anna Sentoro to run as Deputy Leader. She easily beat Crichton in the ballot and was subsequently promoted to Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. A disgusted Crichton was moved sideways to the Ministry of Defence.
Murray badly needed some good news on the political front and was determined to sign off on the treaty with the Japanese. He had worked hard on his Cabinet members and business leaders to accept compromises on the issues which had stalled progress of the Agreement. At 2 p.m. he waited outside the conference room until Japanese P.M. Koshi arrived, bowed to him and invited him to enter the conference room.
Both delegations stood as one as the two P.M.s entered the room and waited till the P.M.s had taken their seats opposite each other in the middle of the table before resuming their seats.
Each of the leaders of the Joint Working Groups presented their findings to the P.M.s and handed out their agreed recommendations. After a brief discussion they endorsed the recommendations. That left only the contentious issues on market access, investment and the submarine contract to resolve. They discussed the issues for the next hour before calling a halt. P.M. Murray announced that the meeting would break for one hour while he and Koshi met privately in a separate conference room for one-on-one discussions. On the way out P.M. Murray beckoned to Jake to accompany them. Jake was caught by surprise but went along as asked. Sitting down in the small conference room, Jake looked up expectantly at P.M. Murray.<
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“Jake, as this Action Plan was your idea, I’d like to get your view on how we resolve these remaining issues. P.M. Koshi says he trusts you, especially after your performance on the golf course.” Koshi nodded affirmatively, beaming at Jake.
Jake thought carefully before replying. “Well to be honest Prime Ministers, if we are going to have a treaty incorporating free trade, that’s what it ought to be. Let us show the rest of the world how a proper free trade agreement should be and remove all barriers to trade and investment. The more exceptions and concessions you have to make, the less effective the agreement is in actually expanding two-way trade. In compensation for Japan removing all barriers to imports from Australia I would suggest that our Government award the submarine contract to Japan but with maximum Australian content. This would demonstrate what a close relationship the two countries have in defence and security.”
Jake was encouraged by the nods of approval by both P.M.s and went on
“So here’s what I would do if it was up to me.” Jake then spent the next thirty minutes explaining his views.
The P.M.s listened attentively, asked a few more questions, then both stood up and thanked Jake for his input. Jake walked out, buoyed by the honour of being invited to give his views but also relieved to be out of there.
Jake walked out of the room only to be confronted by the beefy figure of Ambassador Connell, miffed that Jake had been asked to give his views and not himself.
“What went on in there Stafford, what were you saying to them?” demanded Connell.
“Oh we were just talking about our game of golf yesterday. Koshi wants to go back and look for his golf club in the lagoon,” Jake said smiling at the Ambassador as he walked back to the main conference room.
One hour later the P.M.s walked back into the conference room and addressed the delegates. Murray spoke first.
“Prime Minister Koshi and I have agreed on a seven-point plan as the foundation of an historic treaty between the two nations; these are as follows;
1. Japan and Australia will enter into a new defence alliance which will help to enhance security cooperation in the Pacific region.
2. Japan will phase out within twelve months all tariffs and quotas on imports into Japan of Australian food and agricultural products.
3. Australia will remove immediately all tariffs on imports of Japanese vehicles and auto parts into Australia.
4. Australia will remove all restrictions on Japanese ownership of Australian resources and land.
5. Australia and Japan will each provide safeguards on investments from the other country including a dispute settlement mechanism.
6. Both countries agree to remove impediments to the provision of services by the other in their respective countries.
7. Australia and Japan will enter into a joint venture to manufacture twelve submarines, the vessels to be built in Australian shipyards with the design and technology to be provided by Japan.”
Koshi repeated the words in Japanese for the benefit of his delegation.
The P.M.s concluded by saying that all impediments had now been removed and that the drafting of the treaty would be completed that afternoon. They thanked all the delegates for their hard work and advised that there would be the formal signing of the agreement at a press conference at 5 p.m. that afternoon.
There was a stunned silence around the table at this announcement. Then a rumble of applause started and continued until it became a crescendo. Even the normally sedate Japanese were laughing and high-fiving. Jake almost whooped for joy. This was an historic breakthrough in bilateral agreements especially with so many complicated issues to resolve.
Drinks were promptly brought into the reception area outside the conference room. Anna Sentoro and Jenny Antrim thanked Jake for his contribution and then departed to draft the final agreement. Jake went over to Saito and they toasted each other with flutes of champagne.
The press conference was held in a roped off area of the resort’s foyer. Jake was surprised at the number of media in attendance. All the major Australian newspapers were represented as well as the national broadcaster and two of the commercial television stations. There were also representatives from the major news networks in Japan. Photographers and television cameramen were setting up their equipment.
Promptly at 5 p.m., the two Prime Ministers walked to the dais both beaming for the cameras. P.M. Koshi spoke first, stressing the importance of the treaty to Japan and thanking the Australian Prime Minister and his delegation in gracious terms for their part in completing the negotiations successfully.
Murray was ebullient, lauding the benefits of defence and economic cooperation between the two countries. He explained that Japan was Australia’s second largest trading partner with two-way trade exceeding $70 billion and this would now rapidly escalate thanks to the free trade benefits of the treaty creating new employment opportunities for Australians. The two countries had complementary economies and a similar objective of a secure Asia Pacific region, they were close friends and the treaty would bring them even closer together.
Two originals of the Agreement, each bound in a leather folder, were presented to the P.M.s for signature. They posed for the cameras while signing the Treaty.
The media were then invited to ask questions which lasted for another thirty minutes. Finally, both P.M.s gave radio and television interviews. Murray made the most of his role in the negotiations indicating he had made a number of personal interventions on critical issues to secure the Treaty. He would make this a key factor in his re-election strategy. He then invited the press to attend the opening of the Jabiru mine the following morning.
By 6.30 p.m. the formalities were all over and Jake heaved a huge sigh of relief. He could have a few drinks and a relaxing meal tonight to celebrate. There was to be a celebration party at 8.30 p.m. in the resort’s ballroom for all the delegates, which he intended to attend briefly. He would prefer to be celebrating with Shoni, his father and Lizzie. He just had to attend the opening of the mine tomorrow morning before he was free to take some time off. It was an exhilarating thought.
He went back to his room, ripped his tie off and lay flat on the bed, the exhaustion of the last few days creeping over his body. He picked up his mobile and keyed in Shoni’s number but there was no response and the call went to her message bank. After leaving a brief message he rang Bill and told him the conference was over and that he hoped to visit him again in the next few days. Bill was delighted at the news. Jake asked about Shoni’s whereabouts but Bill replied he had not seen her for a couple of days.
Jake decided to have a relaxing swim in the resort’s pool, undressed, put on a pair of bathers and thongs, grabbed a towel and wandered down to the pool. The pool was turtle-shaped and surrounded by palms and various types of tropical bushes with their bright flowers. He had the pool to himself as he stepped in and started swimming using long easy strokes. The water was warm and he felt energised as he carved through the water doing lap after lap of the pool. He increased his speed feeling at peace as he became totally absorbed in the swimming. He did thirty laps before hauling himself out of the pool feeling weary but relaxed in mind and body.
On the way back to his room he saw the Foreign Affairs Minister Sentoro coming towards him. Casting an appreciative eye over Jake’s lean dripping body, she said “Cooling off after a long day Jake? I thought you’d be celebrating in the bar with rest of the team?”
“I’m not really the social type Minister,” Jake responded.
“Well you made a big input today. I need people like you in my office. Make sure you come to the party tonight,” she commanded with a sparkle in her eye.
“Will do Minister,” replied Jake as he headed back to his room.
Back in is room, Jake changed into a sports shirt and cotton slacks and went down to the main restaurant and filled up a plate from the buffet. He saw Ambassador Connell in earnest discussion with the Minister for Defence Crichton and Defence Attaché
Williams but managed to avoid them and sauntered out on the terrace where he found an unoccupied table and sat down. He enjoyed the noises of the tropical night, the bird calls, the chirping of cicadas and crickets, the gurgling of frogs and the strident calls of the geckos. He thought how pleasant it would be to live in a tropical hideaway and once again contemplated his future.
He returned to his room, sat on the bed, opened a can of beer and watched the news channel on television. Before long up came vision of Prime Ministers Koshi and Murray signing the treaty followed by an interview with an impassioned Murray who extolled the virtues for Australia of the free trade provisions and the submarine contract. He even recounted the incident at the golf course, implying that he personally had saved Koshi from the clutches of a crocodile.
Around 9 p.m. Jake walked into the Tropical Ballroom, the venue for the party for the participants in the negotiations. The party was in full swing, loud music coming from a four-piece band playing pop music. People were on the dance floor swaying to the music while others were standing on the terrace with drinks in hand. Jake pushed his way through the crowd to the bar, ordered a beer, and looked around the room. He spotted Saito in a small group of Japanese officials, who saw him and waved him over. He shook hands vigorously with Jake and introduced him to his colleagues. Jake knew most of them and bowed to each one before joining in the conversation. Saito was beaming as he explained to the group Jake’s role in the negotiations. They were all excited over the success of the talks and pleaded with Jake to tell the story of the golf match. After much prodding from Saito, Jake started to recount the incident with the crocodile but his account was interrupted by the sound of applause as P.M. Koshi, accompanied by two bodyguards, entered the room smiling and bowing.
As he walked across the room, Koshi spotted Jake and Saito and came over to them greeting Jake like an old friend. Jake offered his congratulations to Koshi on completing the Treaty who reciprocated by thanking Jake for his important contribution. He then chatted to the rest of the group. Saito asked Koshi whether he enjoyed his game of golf. Koshi beamed and recounted the golf match with great gusto and humour, relating in detail his encounter with the crocodile, including Jake ‘s efforts to rescue him, and finished off the story with a description of his spectacular chip shot out of the bunker to win the last hole and square the match. The group all laughed uproariously at his account and Jake knew from experience that the Japanese men would be celebrating hard well into the night. To Jake’s annoyance Ambassador Connell came over to congratulate Koshi which immediately caused the group to break up.
Jake pulled Saito aside and asked him whether the Japanese delegation had received any security alerts about the opening of the mining plant the next day. Saito responded in the negative but indicated Koshi and his team were well guarded and that the whole mine site had been fully secured.
The band played the latest pop number and soon the dance floor was crowded with people swaying to the music. A woman’s voice said in his ear “Come on Jake, let’s see if you can dance as well as you speak Japanese.”
Jake looked around to see the petite figure of Anna Sentoro standing in front of him smiling, with her hand extended. She pulled him into the flowing mass on the dance floor and immediately started writhing in time with the music. She looked striking with her dark hair flowing and wearing a long rainbow-coloured dress with a side split and a plunging neckline. Jake struggled to keep up with her but got into the rhythm when the band switched to a fast salsa which, fortunately for Jake, was one of the few dances he knew. She laughed as he shimmied, dipped and twirled her around the dance floor as they both enjoyed the tempo of the dance. The band moved into a slower ballad and Anna held him close as they moved across the dance floor. Jake could feel her soft body pressed against him and breathed in her heady scent. He was aware of other dancers watching them.
“You dance well Jake,” she murmured in his ear. “Do you do everything so well?”
“Not really, you’ll remember how bad I was at our golf match, Minister.”
“Please call me Anna. Well you and Koshi came from behind to draw the match. And you probably saved Koshi’s life by pulling him away from that crocodile. You’ve made a friend for life with Koshi.” She snuggled closer to him.
Jake was prevented from answering as the band quickened its momentum and played an old time rock and roll number which had them jiving around the dance floor.
Jake couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was as she swayed to the music and was starting to enjoy himself when the band abruptly finished its bracket. Anna grabbed both his hands and whispered seductively in his ear “We’re having a party in my suite at midnight if you would like to come- Suite 202.” Jake was saved from answering when applause broke out from the crowd as P.M. Murray entered the room with his entourage, smiling broadly as he waved to the audience. He made his way to Koshi and there was much bowing and shaking of hands all round. Anna said “I’d better go and join his lordship,” blew Jake a kiss and joined Murray and Koshi.
The band started up again as Jake joined a group of Australian officials at the bar. The mood was festive as everyone celebrated the signing of such an historic treaty. After several drinks Jake could feel a wave of tiredness overcome him, excused himself from the group he was with and walked back to his room. He lay on the bed thinking about Shoni and closed his eyes. Some time later he was awoken from a deep sleep by the insistent ringing of the phone on his bedside table. He picked the handset up and a familiar voice purred into the phone “Hey Jake, it’s Anna, the party’s in full swing in my suite. Aren’t you coming up?”
Jake sat up on bed, shaking himself awake. “I’m afraid I dozed off Minister, er sorry Anna, It’s been a long week.”
“Oh come on Jake, get yourself up here and celebrate. You can sleep in tomorrow. And I’ve got something to tell you.”
Jake thought for a second, he really needed to sleep but he didn’t want to refuse the Minister. “O.K. Anna, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
He freshened up and walked up a floor and knocked on the door of Room 202, one of the Penthouse Suites. He could hear loud music coming from the room as the door was opened by one of the Minister’s staff. The suite was huge with a large lounge area, dining room, a balcony overlooking the pool and two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. There were about thirty people in the lounge talking loudly or swaying to the music, most of them in various stages of intoxication. The younger ones were the noisiest, taking selfies with their mobile phones. Anna came over, glass of champagne in hand, and gave him a big hug.
“Ah here’s Jake, the wonder boy” she said, slurring her words slightly. “Give him a glass of champers.” Someone pushed a glass into his hand.
“Sit next to me Jake,” pointing to the large comfortable settee. Jake dutifully sat down next to her. The party was well and truly in full swing and the drinks were flowing freely. Anna looked deep into Jake’s eyes.
“Jake, I need someone in my office with some practical experience in international trade. Would you be interested in joining my office staff after all this is over?”
“Er, I’ve still got six months left of my contract with Austrade.”
“Don’t worry about that Jake, we’d fix that up easily. Let me know tomorrow if you are interested. I presume you are coming to the mine opening?”
“I think I’m invited.”
“Good, make sure you turn up, it will be an interesting event.”
She pulled Jake to his feet and started dancing with him to a slow ballad. Jake could tell by her sluggish movements that she was really intoxicated. She pressed herself close to him. Jake could feel her soft breasts through the thin material of her dress and could feel himself responding to her sensuality. They danced onto the balcony out of sight of the rest of the party-goers and looked out into the tropical night. They could see the pool below them bathed in moonlight. He looked down at her as she reached up and kissed him hungrily on the mouth. She whis
pered in his ear “Jake wait out here while I get rid of the party-goers,” and disappeared inside.
She was back in twenty minutes looking very woozy.
“They’re all gone, thank God,” she mumbled taking Jake by the hand and leading him towards the master bedroom.
“Anna, I don’t’ think this is a good idea.”
“Nonsense Jake, no one will know. Just wait here for two minutes while I get ready.” She left him outside the bedroom and he could hear her open the door to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later he heard the swish of the bed clothes as she fell onto the bed.
“Come on Jakey boy, I’m ready,” she called in a husky voice.
Jake hesitated, he was aroused but not sure what he should do. He waited another couple of minutes and peeked around the bedroom door. He could see her head buried in the pillow and crept to the edge of the bed calling her name softly. As he got closer, he could hear her snoring softly and realised that she was fast asleep. Relieved, he let himself out the door of the suite and into the corridor. Two ministerial staffers were walking past the door taking selfies with their mobiles as he slipped out and gave him a knowing look. He made his way back to his own room and was asleep in seconds.
THURSDAY EVENING - JABIRU
Fifteen kilometres away, Captain Xu and Liang carefully walked along the railway line, only a pencil thin light emanating from Xu’s torch breaking the darkness. Xu was the explosives expert. It took him less than thirty minutes to place the plastic explosives in two separate parts of the track and wire them up so that they would explode on impact. He used camouflage to conceal the explosives so expertly that a searcher would have to stand right on top of the track to see the tiny wire that led to the explosives buried under the rail. Satisfied with their work they walked up the mound to join the rest of the group. Two of their men were sitting noiselessly in deep scrub about a hundred metres from the point where the railroad exited the mine fence. They were well hidden in an area surrounded by bushes and trees. The other member of their group, a sentry, sat in the fork of a large eucalyptus tree holding a rifle complete with infrared sights. They had watched earlier as security officers had searched the track but there had been no patrols that evening.
Xu had set up two similar explosives in the mine’s production plant the night before. They could be set off any time by the remote control in his pocket. He had easily penetrated the mine’s security system by stealing a security pass and posing as one of the catering staff during the day. He had hidden in one of the portable toilets until midnight when he was able to slip into the production plant under the cover of darkness. After setting the explosives, he had returned to his hideaway in the portable toilet until the catering staff arrived early the next morning. He then slipped out of the toilet, picked up a box from a truck and joined the staff carrying food into the kitchen. After a couple of trips he quietly sneaked out of the mine entrance and re-joined his comrades.