92: Chapter 92 Diplomatic Rounds and Online Voices

At the same time, Deep Blue Nation released surveillance footage from its own ports and coastal radar, showing that there were indeed no abnormalities at night, and offered a "friendly reminder" that the sea area contained unknown reefs, requiring extra caution when navigating at night.

Both sides stuck to their own stories, and the bickering began.

Australia and New Zealand accused Deep Blue Nation of concealing the truth, even implying it was a deliberate attack.

Deep Blue Nation counter-accused the Australia and New Zealand warships of trespassing into dangerous waters and suffering navigation errors, and questioned why their warships appeared within our territorial sea lines in the middle of the night.

The whole world was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

The Australia and New Zealand media, which had been cheering for the success of their deterrence just days ago, were instantly overwhelmed by panic and anger.

The netizens of Xia Country, who had felt stifled a few days ago, were filled with a sense of realization and excitement.

The top trending topics on Weibo were almost all related:

"Holy shit! A plot twist! The ships are gone?"

"I told you President Chen Ran wasn't that simple! So it was a 'lure the enemy into the trap and close the door to beat the dog' strategy?"

"This move... it's godlike! How did he do it? Two frigates, just like that, gone?"

"There must be black technology involved! Electromagnetic interference? Sonic weapons? Or did he summon a deep-sea monster?"

"Regardless, it's so satisfying! Serves you right for being arrogant and trespassing into our territorial waters!"

"You're really hiding your true capabilities, President Chen! This move is on another level!"

"Australia and New Zealand must be dumbfounded now, right? Hahahaha!"

"But I'm still a bit worried. This grudge has become serious. Will there be bigger moves later?"

"What's there to be afraid of? If President Chen Ran dared to do it, he must have a backup plan. Besides, it seems our country didn't directly intervene this time, which is brilliant!"

International public opinion was completely divided.

Some strongly questioned Deep Blue Nation, some suspected Australia and New Zealand of staging the whole thing, but most were confused and shocked, demanding a thorough investigation.

However, all requests for investigation progressed slowly in the face of the facts that "the accident area belongs to the sovereign territory of Deep Blue Nation" and "there is a lack of direct evidence."

President Chen Ran did not make any more aggressive public statements, but simply instructed Colt's team to announce the auction preview of a new batch of precious cultural relics as planned.

The dazzling fabergé eggs, the gleaming Tsarist Russian gold coins, and the mysterious ancient nautical chart photos... instantly attracted the attention of the global collecting community and media, somewhat diluting the grim atmosphere brought about by the missing warship incident.

Sitting in the temporary command post, President Chen Ran looked at the increasingly busy port construction scene outside the window, his expression calm.

Last night's Reef Garden was just a cleanup of the trash at his doorstep.

After this night, at least for a while, no one would dare to easily bring warships into Deep Blue Nation's territorial waters for a "stroll" again.

Some warnings do not need sound; they only need results.

The diplomatic note from the Deep Blue Nation Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent out quickly, with the wording polished by Samuel Colt himself, citing international law and the provisions of the united nations convention on the law of the sea.

The core was two points: First, strongly question and demand that Australia and New Zealand provide a formal explanation regarding the unauthorized and illegal intrusion of their naval vessels, hmas warramunga and hmnzs tekaha, into Deep Blue Nation's territorial waters.

The note included a diagram overlaying the last known satellite positioning of hmas warramunga with the territorial sea baseline claimed by Deep Blue Nation, with the red line being particularly eye-catching.

Second, based on the principle of reciprocity, ask if this means that Australia and New Zealand recognize that other countries' warships can enter their territorial waters for free navigation without permission, and if so, whether Deep Blue Nation can also enjoy the same rights?

The note was delivered through official diplomatic channels to Canberra and Wellington, and was simultaneously copied to the United Nations Security Council, the International Maritime Organization, and other major relevant countries.

The foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand were immediately thrown into a chaotic headache.

Admit that the warships deliberately trespassed? That would be a serious diplomatic incident and a violation of sovereignty, leaving them completely in the wrong internationally, and their domestic public would not be able to accept it.

Insist it was a mistake? But how can a mistake lead to entering someone else's territorial waters by dozens of kilometers, specifically in the middle of the night, and specifically with two ships making the same mistake? Even they themselves felt this explanation sounded like nonsense.

In the panic, the initial replies from both countries were almost identical, all using standard diplomatic rhetoric such as "deeply regret," "possibly due to complex sea conditions and technical reasons leading to positioning deviations," "currently under urgent investigation," and "calling on all parties to remain calm and restrained."

They attempted to blur the focus, guiding the nature of the event toward an "unfortunate maritime accident," and in turn, demanded that Deep Blue Nation "provide more search and rescue convenience" and "transparent information."

The second diplomatic note from the Deep Blue Nation Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed immediately, with an even colder tone.

It directly refuted the "technical reasons" argument, pointing out that given the navigation standards of modern warships, such a huge and simultaneous "positioning deviation" was "hard to be convincing."

And it sharply retorted: "If your country's warship navigation systems are so unreliable, does it mean that all your so-called freedom of navigation operations in disputed waters like the South China Sea and East China Sea carry a high risk of accidentally trespassing into other countries' territorial waters? How can international shipping safety be guaranteed?" Finally, it once again demanded that the other party clearly answer the question about the principle of reciprocity from the first note.

This note was not copied to as many organizations, but somehow, the full text was quickly leaked online.

International law scholars and military enthusiasts immediately began creating various interpretation and analysis videos.

"Look, this is what it means to strike the snake at its seven-inch mark! This diplomatic counterattack by Deep Blue Nation is beautiful!"

"Australia and New Zealand have really smeared yellow mud in their pants this time—if it's not shit, it's still shit. Who would believe it was an accidental intrusion?"

"The point is that question about the principle of reciprocity! It's perfect! Aren't you Australia and New Zealand always shouting about freedom of navigation? Well, according to your logic, can't the small boats of Deep Blue Nation also go to Sydney Harbor and Auckland Harbor for some free navigation?"

"I estimate that the coffee machines in the foreign ministries of Australia and New Zealand must have burned out twice by now."

The domestic network in Xia Country was even more jubilant; the pent-up frustration from the last few days was finally vented.

"Hahaha! Well retorted! Serves you right for being arrogant! Still want to do freedom of navigation?"

"Brother Ran is mighty! This diplomatic rhetoric is as hardcore as his salvage technology!"

"What does it mean to use magic to defeat magic? This is it! Don't you like to accidentally intrude? We'll learn from that too."

"I bet the faces of those in Australia and New Zealand are green; their own warships are gone, and they are still being forced to admit their mistakes."

"But seriously, how exactly did those two ships disappear? Did they really hit a reef? Is it that coincidental?"

"The person above is naive. Regarding this matter, those who know, know; those who don't, don't ask. Anyway, the result is good."

"Waiting to see how Australia and New Zealand spin this. This time, I'm siding with Deep Blue Nation!"

Some relatively calm analyses pointed out that this matter would definitely not end easily. Australia and New Zealand still have a big brother behind them, and the sinking of warships and loss of personnel are major real-world events. Subsequent diplomatic and military games may escalate, and Deep Blue Nation needs to be prepared to face even more severe pressure.

In Hangzhou, Shen Wanqing flipped through the news on her tablet, her gaze lingering between the intense diplomatic rhetoric and President Chen Ran's name.

She recalled the word "safe" he had sent that night, and his current ability to stir up international storms, letting out a soft sigh, not knowing if it was worry or some other emotion.

Shen Guomin, for once, had an extra drink while eating at home, laughing and scolding President Chen Ran over the phone, "You brat, you're always causing such terrifying commotions," but the approval in his tone couldn't be hidden.

Deep Blue Nation, temporary command post.

President Chen Ran didn't pay much attention to the online clamor; he had two documents in front of him.

One was the revised detailed plan and quotation for the first phase of the project submitted jointly by several infrastructure giants from Xia Country, with the total price controlled at 13.5 billion USD, to be paid in three phases, with 4.5 billion USD needed as initial startup capital.

The other was the estimated catalog and potential bidder analysis for the second batch of auction items prepared by Colt's team, focusing on the fabergé eggs and Tsarist Russian imperial documents salvaged from the tsars gift, expected to fetch between 2 billion and 3.5 billion USD.

"Tell the Xia Country side that the plan is approved in principle; they can start preliminary preparations and some material procurement. The initial funds will be in place within a week."

President Chen Ran said to the overseas Chinese official in charge of infrastructure liaison, "In addition, in the name of the Deep Blue Nation National Development Fund, issue a 5 billion USD, low-interest, five-year bond to the overseas companies of these Xia Country enterprises. It will be guaranteed by our fund in the Cayman Islands to supplement the construction funds. Let Colt handle the specifics."

"Yes, President."

"Bring the auction forward to ten days from now. Focus the promotion on those eggs and the mysterious documents. Appropriately leak that some of the document content might be related to certain European royal secrets or clues to WWII treasures, to whet the appetites of those collectors and historians." President Chen Ran instructed another official in charge of culture.

"Understood!"

After handling these, President Chen Ran looked at Victor and Fortress, who were sitting nearby. Captain Sledgehammer was still in Europe handling affairs and had not returned.

"How is the cleaning work progressing in Europe?" President Chen Ran asked.

"Basically complete," Victor said in a low voice. "The core members of the three main target families and their key contacts in Australia and New Zealand have all died unexpectedly. Related assets, including some artworks, equity, and secret account funds, have been transferred through complex transactions, totaling approximately... 12.8 billion USD, which is currently being laundered in batches and injected into the Special Development Fund. No directional traces were left during the process. Local investigations are leaning towards internal power struggles or vendettas."

"Very good. Account for this money separately as a special reserve for the Reef Garden incident and any subsequent potential risks."

President Chen Ran nodded. "On the Australia and New Zealand side, besides jumping around diplomatically, are there any new military movements?"

"Their navy has entered a state of high alert and has dispatched more aircraft and warships to operate on the periphery of the relevant sea area, but... they are quite cautious and have not approached our territorial sea line again. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from the United States is sailing from the direction of Guam and is expected to arrive in the area in three days, nominally to assist in search and rescue and maintain navigational safety," Victor reported.

"The Americans really couldn't sit still," President Chen Ran smiled. "Let them come. It's fine to watch the scenery from across the territorial sea line. What is the status of the Ghost?"

"Resupply complete. The consumed energy and the one-time EMP generator have been replenished. 150 points were deducted. It is currently in a silent lurking state and can be deployed at any time," Fortress replied.