152: Chapter 152 The United Nations' War of Words

Jizan Port, early morning, December 24

Six Y-20 large transport aircraft landed in the morning mist. As the cargo bay doors opened, the first to emerge were not equipment, but two hundred "technicians" dressed in plain clothes but walking in perfect unison.

Prince Fahd personally greeted them on the tarmac. He wore a traditional white robe with a bulletproof vest over it—this was his wartime attire.

The Chinese representative, Major General Li Zhenguo, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense, stepped forward and shook hands with Fahd: "Your Highness, the first batch of 6 Red Flag-9BE systems, including launch vehicles, radar vehicles, command vehicles, and ammunition trucks, are all in place. 200 accompanying technicians will assist your side in immediate deployment."

Fahd gripped Li Zhenguo's hand and shook it firmly three times: "General, the people of Saudi Arabia will remember this day."

"Begin," Li Zhenguo turned and ordered.

Unloading began rapidly. Huge launch vehicles slowly drove down from the transport planes, and radar antennas slowly rose under the propulsion of hydraulic mechanisms. Chinese technicians used fluent Arabic to direct the Saudi soldiers: "This way! Secure the ground anchors! Connect the power!"

Major General Katani stood to the side, watching all of this. His mood was complicated—these pieces of equipment, these operating interfaces, these tactical terms, were completely different from the American system he had been trained in for twenty years.

A young Chinese technician walked up to him and saluted: "General, I am Wang Lei, the training instructor for the Red Flag-9 system. According to the arrangements, I will be responsible for training your command team."

Katani looked at this young man who looked less than thirty: "You... can operate this system?"

"I am a retired company commander from a Rocket Force anti-aircraft brigade, having operated the Red Flag-9 for four years." Wang Lei smiled, "If you don't mind, we can turn it on now. Coincidentally, there is a Persian 'Witness' drone active on the northern border, which we can use as a target."

"Now?" Katani was surprised.

"The battlefield waits for no one." Wang Lei was already walking toward the command vehicle.

Ten minutes later, inside the command vehicle. On the large screen, the Beidou Navigation System and local Saudi radar data were fused, displaying a complete air situation. A red dot was slowly moving 50 kilometers away at the northern border of Saudi Arabia.

"Target identification: Persian 'Witness-129' drone, cruising altitude 5000 meters, speed 150 km/h." Wang Lei reported quickly, "Recommendation: Launch an interceptor missile to test the system's reaction time."

Katani looked at Fahd, and Fahd nodded.

"Approved," Katani said.

Wang Lei's fingers slid across the touchscreen: target locked, launch vehicle assigned, parameters bound, launch confirmed. The entire process took less than twenty seconds.

Outside the vehicle, a low roar was heard. The Red Flag-9 launch tube kicked up white smoke, and the missile dragged a tail flame into the sky, carving an arc through the air.

On the screen, the missile's trajectory rapidly approached the drone's trajectory.

Thirty seconds later, the screen flashed, and the target dot disappeared.

"Interception successful." Wang Lei's voice was calm, "From detection to destruction, the total time taken was 1 minute and 17 seconds."

Inside the command vehicle, the Saudi officers looked at each other, then erupted into cheers.

Major General Katani looked at the "Target Destroyed" prompt on the screen, then looked at the young Chinese instructor beside him, and suddenly said in English: "Will you... teach us everything? Without holding anything back?"

Wang Lei turned to look at him, his eyes sincere: "General, this system is now yours. We will teach every one of your soldiers to operate, maintain, and fight independently. Because only then can it truly protect your skies."

Katani was silent for a few seconds, then turned to Fahd, his voice somewhat choked: "Your Highness... we have found a true friend."

Fahd nodded, his eyes also somewhat moist.

He walked outside the command vehicle, looking at the white trail left by the missile in the sky, which was being scattered by the morning breeze.

From today on, the skies of Saudi Arabia would be in their own hands.

UN Headquarters in New York, Security Council Chamber, 10:00 AM, December 25

In New York, during Christmas, the streets were decorated with lights, but the atmosphere inside the UN headquarters was as cold as iron.

In the Security Council chamber, representatives from the fifteen member states were already seated. The cameras in the media area were pointed at the podium, and over two hundred television stations worldwide were broadcasting live.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, stepped onto the podium. This fifty-year-old former Governor of South Carolina was known for her sharp rhetoric, and today, she had meticulously prepared a "performance."

"Mr. President, fellow representatives." Haley began, her voice reaching everyone through simultaneous interpretation headsets, "Today, I want to expose a humanitarian disaster—a disaster created by algorithms and greed."

The large screen began to play a video: a village in the desert, a swarm of drones descending like locusts, explosions, firelight, and crying. The footage had been carefully edited to look like indiscriminate slaughter.

"This is a real scene that happened three days ago in Idlib Province, Syria." Haley's voice was full of grief, "The 'wasp m2' smart attack drones produced by the Spark Company autonomously identified targets and launched attacks without human intervention. The result was... 47 civilians dead, including 12 children."

She turned and pointed to the Chinese representative's seat: "And the company that manufactures these killing machines comes from that country."

The flashbulbs in the media area flashed wildly.

Haley continued: "This is not war; this is murder. Murder determined by algorithms. The Spark Company must make public all artificial intelligence source code for its drones, accept international supervision, and immediately stop global arms sales!"

After finishing, she sat down, looking at the Chinese representative's seat with a provocative gaze.

According to Security Council procedure, the accused country has the right of reply.

The Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations, Geng Yansheng, slowly stood up. At 55, he was tall and straight, wearing a dark suit, holding no manuscript, and not even looking at the teleprompter in front of him.

He walked to the podium, adjusted the microphone, and looked at Haley.

"Ambassador Haley." Geng Yansheng's English carried a standard Oxford accent—he had studied in the UK, "The video you just played has a timestamp of 14:30 on December 22, and the location is the village of Al-Hamid in southern Idlib province, Syria. Is that correct?"

Haley was stunned for a moment: "Yes."

"Then, please look at this." Geng Yansheng signaled the staff.

The large screen switched to show two satellite images. The first was an infrared thermal map of the Idlib region taken by a commercial satellite at 14:30 on December 22, and the second was an optical image of the same time and area taken by China's "Gaofen" series satellite.

"According to satellite data," Geng Yansheng circled the area with a laser pointer, "At 14:30 on December 22, there were no abnormal heat sources in the southern part of Idlib province. In other words, there were no explosions, no fires."

He switched to the next image: "And this is the battlefield log provided by the Spark Company. Throughout the day of December 22, all 'wasp m2' drones sold to the Syrian government were carrying out missions in Latakia province, over 200 kilometers away from Idlib."

The next image: "This is the flight trajectory of the 'MQ-9 Reaper' drone produced by General Atomics of the United States, between 14:25 and 14:40 on December 22—it passed right through southern Idlib."

Geng Yansheng turned and looked at Haley: "So, Ambassador Haley, your accusation that Spark drones caused civilian casualties is based on a fabricated video. And the real culprit is very likely a US drone."

The hall was in an uproar.

Haley's face flushed red: "This is slander! US drones strictly follow the rules of engagement..."

"Strictly follow?" Geng Yansheng interrupted, pulling up new data, "According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report, in the past decade, the United States has sold over 8,500 drones globally, and the minimum estimate of civilian deaths caused by these drones is 30,000. In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, 97% of 'mis-strike' incidents caused by US drones have not undergone any investigation or compensation."

He paused, his voice becoming colder: "In contrast, all smart weapons sold by the Spark Company have a 'human-in-the-loop' design—the final firing authority must be confirmed by a human operator. Moreover, all sales contracts include a clause: if the purchaser uses these weapons to attack civilians, Spark has the right to remotely lock the system."

"But this is not the worst part." Geng Yansheng switched to the final image, a screenshot of the Saudi Patriot system being locked, "Three days ago, the United States remotely locked Saudi Arabia's air defense system, exposing millions of civilians in a country to the threat of airstrikes. According to Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions, deliberately depriving civilians of air defense protection constitutes a war crime."

He looked directly at Haley: "Ambassador Haley, you are here talking loudly about 'algorithmic murder,' yet you turn a blind eye to your government's 'digital war crimes.' Is this not... a double standard?"

The conference hall was silent.

Reporters in the media area were frantically recording. This scene was too shocking—the Chinese Ambassador used data and logic to completely shatter the US's moral accusation and even counter-charged with "war crimes."

Haley opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but couldn't find the words for a moment.

Next was the time for representatives from various countries to speak.

The representative from Pakistan raised his hand first. This sixty-year-old veteran diplomat had a steady and powerful voice: "Pakistan is a traditional ally of the United States, and we own F-16 fighter jets. But every time these planes take off, we need to apply for password authorization from the United States. Our maintenance data is transmitted back to US servers in real-time. What kind of sovereignty is this?"

He paused: "But the drones and missiles we bought from Spark, our soldiers can repair them themselves, modify them themselves, and decide how to use them themselves. These are not just weapons; they are autonomy."

The South African representative followed up: "The United States always talks about restricting the proliferation of smart weapons, but in the past decade, the US military has launched or participated in at least seven wars. Who is actually threatening world peace? Who is actually proliferating violence?"

The Brazilian representative: "We have noted that the price of Spark's weapons is only one-third to one-half of similar Western products. This allows more developing countries to have the ability to defend themselves. What the United States opposes is not the proliferation of weapons, but the proliferation of 'affordable' weapons."

One after another, representatives from developing countries spoke. Although they did not directly name the United States, every sentence questioned the existing international order and questioned Western technological monopoly and moral hegemony.

The final voting moment.

The resolution draft proposed by the United States, "demanding Spark to make public source code and stop arms sales," entered the voting procedure.

"In favor?" the President asked.

The US raised its hand. The UK raised its hand. France hesitated for a moment and also raised its hand.

"Against?"

China raised its hand. Russia raised its hand.

"Abstentions?"

The remaining thirteen member states—all abstained.

The resolution was not passed.

Haley left the venue with a livid face. Behind her, Geng Yansheng was surrounded by reporters.

"Ambassador Geng, today many countries abstained at the Security Council for the first time. Does this mean the international landscape is changing?"

Geng Yansheng stopped and looked at the camera: "Today, many countries said 'no' for the first time. It is not saying 'no' to a certain country; it is saying 'no' to unjust rules, 'no' to double standards. This is not the end; it is the beginning."

He paused: "The world is becoming multipolar, and technology is becoming democratized. Any attempt to monopolize progress, monopolize security, or monopolize the right to development is destined to fail."

After finishing, he turned and left. His back was as straight as a pine.