117: A drama at the expense of innocent citizens, the Kangaroo Country has entered the game

This morning, the entire world's public opinion erupted in a massive wave.

“Breaking news: Late last night, Alice Springs, the only town in central Australia, was attacked and controlled by an unidentified military group. The group publicly claimed to be affiliated with the Anti-War People's Army's First Division, Third Infantry Regiment.”

“The purpose of occupying Alice Springs is to tell the world that Alice Springs is now the Anti-War Army's territory!”

“Alice Springs is a major town in the Northern Territory, falling within Australia's territorial scope. We are awaiting a response or explanation from the Australian authorities and the Anti-War Army authorities regarding this matter.”

Fang Le pursed his lips, put down the tablet, and stopped paying attention to the breaking news.

He didn't want to get involved, but during breakfast, he was disturbed by a call from Dragon Country.

“I am Minister of National Defense Dong Changjun… Brother Fang, what's going on with that news?”

Fang Le: “Which news?”

Dong Changjun: “Of course, the news about Alice Springs being occupied last night. Don't tell me you don't know, with Alice Springs being so close to you.”

Fang Le: “Oh, I know.”

Dong Changjun: “So, was it occupied by your First Division, Third Infantry Regiment?”

Fang Le: “We don't have that unit.”

In reality, due to a lack of total troop strength, all Anti-War Army units are composite units; there are no standalone infantry regiments.

Dong Changjun seemed to know that Fang Le couldn't have done such a thing; he specifically contacted him just to get a verbal confirmation.

“Alas, since it wasn't done by you, it's clear who did it.”

“It seems this is the casus belli those people were looking for… Xiao Fang, the negative consequences of you returning those bombers so early have come to light, haven't they?”

Dong Changjun once again lightly complained about Fang Le returning the bombers earlier for a small gain.

Fang Le pursed his lips, looking indifferent.

Dong Changjun: “Brother Fang, how do you plan to counter this move by the American military?”

Finding a casus belli is one thing, but having the blame pinned on one's head is intolerable for anyone.

Fang Le: “I'll see what their next move is before deciding how to counter.”

Dong Changjun: “That's good too.”

That morning, the Australian authorities publicly questioned why the Anti-War Army had occupied Alice Springs.

The Anti-War Army did not respond.

Then, the Australian authorities held a press conference to state their case.

At the press conference, the official spokesperson for Australia spoke eloquently:

“According to our deductions, the cause of this incident was that, not long ago, our Federal Government dispatched an envoy to the Anti-War Army entrenched in the MacDonnell Ranges.”

“The envoy's mission was to inform the Anti-War Army that our country possesses sovereignty and jurisdiction over the MacDonnell Ranges, and to request the Anti-War Army to leave the area and not spread the flames of war onto our territory.”

“And what follows are the words of the Anti-War Army's commander, surnamed Fang, who personally replied to the envoy. Please listen.”

—

“The only ones with the right to make me withdraw from the MacDonnell Ranges, to make territorial claims against me, are the Australians on this continent.”

“No other creature has this right.”

—

“After receiving these replies, our envoy was driven away, and soon after, Alice Springs was occupied during the night.”

“I believe this is the causal logic of the matter: the Anti-War Army intends to overturn our sovereign claims over the MacDonnell Ranges through this occupation, especially since Alice Springs is right next to this mountain range; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's part of the range.”

After the official statement, reporters began asking questions.

“Spokesperson, what will you do about this barbaric act by the Anti-War Army?”

“Will the authorities stand by and do nothing, like when the rebellion occurred in Darwin City?”

Spokesperson: “The incident in Darwin City was completely different in nature from this one. That incident stemmed from popular discontent, and our authorities found it difficult to suppress it forcefully, as public opinion had to be respected. However, this time, it is a pure act of military occupation. Furthermore, throughout the occupation, that group of bandits poured at least a thousand shells into the town, causing significant damage to buildings, streets, and vegetation. To prevent town residents from escaping, these people also deployed machine gun positions outside the town, causing numerous casualties… All these details I'm describing were obtained from high-altitude satellite imagery.”

“Therefore, this is a pure act of terrorism targeting our civilians and our towns, a military invasion. We will have no choice but to exercise our right to self-defense and resist the American military's invasion!”

After the press conference concluded, by that afternoon, the Australian military explicitly declared to the nation that they had drawn about a brigade's worth of troops from domestic military bases, forming a combined armored infantry unit, which was advancing towards Alice Springs and would arrive shortly.

Fang Le, upon seeing Australia's official actions, again pursed his lips in disdain.

He was currently holding a small meeting with high-ranking military officials, and Third Division Commander Li Dakui stated:

“Clearly, Australia intends to frame our People's Army. Commander, are we really going to do nothing and just watch them put on a show? Why can't we take the initiative and first defeat those bandits who are impersonating us?”

Fang Le didn't answer, but the others already had the answer.

Second Division Commander Chen Guangming: “It's right for the Commander to do nothing.”

“Even if we were to attack Alice Springs now and eliminate those bandits, others could simply say we were silencing witnesses.”

“Let them continue their act.”

Then, the next day, Australia's composite brigade arrived outside Alice Springs and besieged the entire town.

A new battle began.