Chapter 292: Intertwined Interests

President Gonzalez left to attend to the rest of his schedule.

Meanwhile, we headed to the guest residence provided by the Philippine government to rest after the journey.

After entering the bedroom, I set down my travel bag and went out to the living room with Saho. Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok, and Team Leader Seo Donghun were already sitting on the sofa.

As soon as I took the vacant main armchair, Kang Inhan asked with a puzzled expression,

“Leader, is there a reason you aren't changing into something more comfortable?”

“We'll have guests soon.”

“Guests?.. Who do you mean?”

“Hahaha. You'll see for yourself soon enough.”

“Understood.”

Kang Inhan blindly believed everything I said and obeyed without question.

At first, such blind devotion weighed on me quite a bit, but little by little, I had gotten used to it.

“What were the three of you talking about?”

“We were discussing the free transfer of twenty KGGB units to the Philippines.”

The KGGB boasted a hefty price tag of more than one hundred million won apiece.

And yet our country had decided to provide them to the Philippines for free, without asking for anything in return.

That was precisely why Kang Inhan and the others were so curious.

“When exporting a new weapon, it's crucial to prove its combat effectiveness in actual operations. The KGGB not only significantly outperforms other precision-guided bombs in terms of performance, but is also relatively inexpensive. However, because it has never been used in actual combat, its export figures remain modest.”

“You're saying the KGGBs were given to the Philippines for free specifically to test them in real combat?”

“Exactly, Chief Kang.”

“Do the Philippines understand our country's intentions?”

“That's precisely why they jumped at my proposal with both hands.”

“And what will the Philippines give our country in return?”

“Hehehe. Who knows.”

Ding!

Just as I chuckled softly, the doorbell rang.

Team Leader Seo Donghun went to the door to check who had arrived.

Since I already knew who was there, I followed him.

As soon as Seo Donghun opened the door, several people entered, led by NIS Director Om Giyeon.

With a slightly embarrassed smile, I addressed Director Om Giyeon.

“You could have simply called me over.”

“What difference does it make who comes to whom?”

“Haha. Please, come in.”

As soon as we moved to the living room and sat down on the sofas, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok served drinks.

After wetting his throat, NIS Director Om Giyeon asked me curiously,

“You expected us to come?”

“I won't deny it.”

“Then you know why we're here as well?”

“I assume you've come to discuss the capture of the three North Korean submarines.”

“You really do know everything. But if we capture the three submarines and hand them over to the Philippines, won't North Korea try to retaliate against our country and the United States?”

I shook my head and answered NIS Director Om Giyeon's question.

“The probability of North Korea attempting retaliation against us or the United States is zero.”

“And why did you come to that conclusion? I'd like to hear it.”

“Because the North Korean submarines will be left drifting after running out of fuel, after which they'll simply be detained by the Philippine Navy.”

“Hahahahaha!”

As though he had read my thoughts, NIS Director Om Giyeon burst into booming laughter.

Naturally, CIA Director Griffin and the others joined in with satisfied laughter.

After waiting for the laughter to subside, I continued.

“But there is one essential condition.”

“A condition?”

“Our and the American submarines pursuing the North Korean submarines must not be detected under any circumstances.”

“You don't need to worry about that.”

“Then I'll leave everything in your hands, Director Om and Director Griffin.”

“Agreed.”

Leaving NIS Director Om Giyeon's answer at that, I turned to Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.

“For the successful capture of the North Korean submarines, your role will be crucial, Deputy Director Jo.”

“Mine?”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol pointed at himself in genuine astonishment.

“The submarine crews may resort to extreme measures when pushed into a corner.”

“You mean the crews might commit suicide?”

“Exactly. For the sake of their families left behind in North Korea, they may very well try to blow up the submarines and take their own lives. Please don't let them make that decision.”

“And how am I supposed to persuade them?”

“Convince them that if they defect to our country, they'll receive a generous resettlement allowance.”

Ding!

At that moment, the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° doorbell rang again.

But this was strange.

No one else was supposed to visit us.

“Team Leader Seo, check who's there.”

“Yes, understood.”

After answering briefly, Team Leader Seo Donghun looked through the peephole.

Then he immediately reported that Defense Minister Fernando and NBI Director Santiago had arrived.

We headed to the door to greet our guests.

When Seo Donghun opened the door, both visitors visibly flinched in surprise.

They clearly hadn't expected to see so many people here, led by NIS Director Om Giyeon.

As the host, I greeted them politely.

“Minister Fernando, Director Santiago, welcome.”

“You seem to be busy. Have we disturbed you with our visit?”

“On the contrary, your timing is perfect. If you hadn't come, we were planning to visit you ourselves.”

“Us?”

“I'll explain everything inside.”

Once we entered the living room and settled onto the sofas, Defense Minister Fernando spoke impatiently.

“Leader Cha, you promised to explain.”

“We were just discussing the plan to capture the North Korean submarines and what to do afterward.”

“And what did you decide?”

“First of all, we've decided to make it appear as though the submarines were detained by the Philippine Navy.”

Without concealing anything, I relayed my entire conversation with NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others to Defense Minister Fernando and Director Santiago.

“...Deputy Director Jo will take responsibility for preventing the crews from making a fatal decision.”

“Deputy Director Jo, I'm counting on you.”

“I'll do everything I can to persuade them.”

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol displayed complete confidence.

After finishing his brief exchange with him, Defense Minister Fernando turned back to me.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“The fact that the Philippine Navy captured three North Korean submarines will need to be kept strictly secret for a while.”

Defense Minister Fernando simply couldn't understand Cha Jiham's logic.

If the Philippine Navy captured the North Korean submarines, all the credit would go to them.

But if the fact of their capture was kept secret, they wouldn't be able to flaunt their achievement either.

I directly asked him what he thought about it.

“A submarine is a type of asymmetric weapon.”

“I'm well aware of that.”

“And China is convinced that the Philippines has no submarines.”

“...!”

At that moment, Defense Minister Fernando looked as though he had been struck by a heavy hammer.

His country was currently engaged in a desperate struggle with China over territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea.

However, because of the weakness of the Philippine Navy and Air Force, the Philippines had been forced to simply take China's blows without being able to retaliate.

And although these Romeo-class submarines were already more than fifty years old, possessing three of them would completely change the equation.

In the event of an armed clash with China in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines would be able to strike back with submarines.

But for that to happen, the Philippine Navy first had to learn how to operate them.

That was precisely why Cha Jiham had suggested concealing the fact that the submarines had been captured.

He had completely forgotten about that, blinded by his desire for glory.

“Leader Cha, I admit I was shortsighted.”

“Since you understand what I had in mind, I see no reason to dwell on the matter.”

“Agreed.”

“Now, let's assume the three submarines are already in the hands of the Philippine Navy. You need to have your people learn how to operate them from the North Korean crew members as quickly as possible.”

“I understand what you're getting at, but will they cooperate?”

I deliberately shifted my gaze toward Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.

As though reading my thoughts, he responded without hesitation.

“Minister Fernando, I'll personally persuade the crews.”

“Can you really do that?”

“Of course. The important thing is to provide them with generous compensation for their work and comfortable housing.”

“We'll do that.”

“Excellent. Now, please continue your conversation with Leader Cha.”

I gave Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol a slight nod of gratitude and continued.

“Even taking modernization into account, the Romeo-class submarines were built far too long ago. To reliably defend your rights in the West Philippine Sea, you'll still have to purchase state-of-the-art submarines.”

“Speaking of which, we already have a project prepared to purchase three submarines.”

Our country had long had its eye on the Philippines' submarine procurement project.

That was precisely why we had given them the KGGBs for free and arranged for them to acquire three North Korean submarines.

Having figured out our country's intentions, Defense Minister Fernando brought up the submarine procurement project himself.

In effect, this meant that they were willing to purchase three submarines from us.

Nevertheless, I had no intention of revealing even the slightest hint of what I was thinking.

“You should choose your submarines after carefully weighing every factor: price, performance, and delivery time.”

“That's exactly what I intend to do. Now, let's change the subject for a moment.”

“I'm listening.”

“How can our country strengthen its rights in the West Philippine Sea?”

'He already knows the answer, yet he's still asking.'

“The best way would be for the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, which share the West Philippine Sea, to join forces and confront China together.”

“We'd be happy to do that ourselves, but we simply can't get the other countries to participate.”

The main reason they couldn't bring the other countries on board was that the capabilities of all five countries sharing the West Philippine Sea were similarly modest.

If I said that outright, Defense Minister Fernando obviously wouldn't like it.

So I decided to phrase my answer more tactfully.

“I know the reason.”

“Would you care to share it?”

“All five countries have far too much pride.”

“Hmm... Now that I think about it, that's true.”

“For those five countries to form an alliance, they'll need the backing of a truly powerful nation.”

“A powerful nation?.. Who exactly do you have in mind?”

“There is only one country on this planet that doesn't give China the time of day—the United States.”

As though he had been waiting for precisely this moment, CIA Director Griffin joined the conversation.

“Our country strongly supports the creation of an alliance among those five nations.”

“That sounds as though you're prepared to assist us. Am I understanding you correctly?”

“Of course. If the Philippine government agrees, we'll arrange a summit meeting between the leaders of all five countries.”

“Excellent. I'll discuss it with President Gonzalez.”

“I'll look forward to good news.”

Brrr.

At that moment, NIS Director Om Giyeon's phone vibrated on the table.

After looking at the screen, he excused himself and stepped away for a moment.

Soon, he returned to the sofa and addressed Defense Minister Fernando.

“A transport aircraft carrying forty KGGB units has just departed for the Philippines.”

Defense Minister Fernando hesitated for a moment.

After all, NIS Director Om Giyeon had promised President Gonzalez that twenty KGGB units would be provided free of charge.

Yet now he had mentioned not twenty, but forty units.

Frowning in confusion, he asked,

“Director Om, will we have to pay for the remaining twenty KGGB units?”

“Why would you?”

“Then why is Korea giving us an additional twenty KGGB units?”

Naturally, it wasn't for nothing.

Everything was being done to secure the submarine procurement contract planned by the Philippines.

However, NIS Director Om Giyeon had no intention of showing his hand like an amateur.

“The KGGB is an extremely precise bomb. The additional units have been allocated so that your fighter pilots can hone their skills in using this weapon.”

“How generous! Please convey our sincere gratitude to President Cho Seokchin.”

“I certainly will.”

“Now then, shall we go have dinner?”

“Hahaha! An excellent suggestion!”

CIA Director Griffin rose from the sofa faster than anyone else, his entire demeanor expressing his wholehearted, enthusiastic agreement.