Rogue Generals V2 Reboot: A Different Post-EDSA Uno Philippines TL

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE FILIPINO CIVIL WAR PART SIX

PROTESTS ERUPT IN ILOCOS NORTE CAPITAL OF LAOAG IN RESPONSE TO RISE IN FOOD PRICES, MARCOS REGIME LOYALIST FORCES DEPLOYED TO QUELL 'RIOTS' IN RESPONSE
Manila Times
September 22, 1986

(Laoag, ILOCOS NORTE) - In what is an unsurprising turn of events, residents of Ilocos Norte's provincial capital of Laoag had taken to the streets in response to the rise in food prices, as well as prices in other commodities as well. The protests come at a time when economic activity in parts of the Philippines under the control of former Marcos regime loyalist forces have been paralyzed by the exodus of civilians wishing to leave their homes in not only Ilocos Norte, but areas of Luzon that have recently been placed under the control of said regime loyalist troops. The decline in economic activity has also affected parts of the Philippines under control of the Aquino government, and territories under the control of the Tadiar-aligned renegade troops. Although the uprising in Laoag is seen as a promising trend that could put an end to the Marcos regime in his home province, skeptics had pointed out that General Fabian Ver, who has taken over the Vice Presidency from former Kilusang Bagong Lipunan member and former Vice Presidential candidate Arturo Tolentino, is willing to use lethal force to disperse the protests, citing Artemio Tadiar's own suppression of the EDSA Revolution that triggered his infamy.

"My biggest mistake was that I believed that I can show mercy to my opponents when they dared to protest against my victory in the last snap election," comments former President Marcos, during a rally attended by a few remaining die hard supporters. "It seems that Artemio Tadiar, despite my order to not shoot at civilians, has shown that sometimes we must show no mercy to our enemies. That does not excuse his treason against our nation."

In response to the protests, General Ver has imposed a 22 hour curfew, where civilians are not allowed to roam around the streets of Laoag, with a 2 hour limit where they are allowed to leave their homes, only to receive their rationed food and fuel. Moreover, the acting Vice President has also ordered all schools within the area of the Philippines under the control of former Marcos regime loyalists to be closed, for the duration of the civil war. Needless to say, the teachers were outraged by the order, and joined the protesting civilians on the streets. As tensions continue to rise between the former dictator and the citizens of northern Luzon, the news of the declining popularity has been seen as a welcoming development for Marcos's opponents. In addition, the New People's Army had also hatched a plan to trigger a left wing revolt against the pro-Marcos forces in northern Luzon, as an attempt to force their opponents to expend their energy into putting down the revolts, as a diversion from their real intentions.

"I would not be surprised if former President Marcos decided to impose a brutal crackdown on the citizens of the territory that he still controls. Ironically, he learned to become merciless from the renegade officer who disobeyed his orders at Ortigas Avenue," says Lorenzo Tanada, a prominent left-wing official within the Aquino government, who has refused to defect to the New People's Army. "However, I fear that Marcos might do something insane in response to the growing discontent among his own supporters by taking the Ilocos region and seceding from the Philippines. I suppose he might have learned that from his communist enemies as well."

---

KENTUCKY IN AN UPROAR AS LOCAL ACTOR JOHNNY DEPP IS REVEALED TO HAVE DIED IN THE PHILIPPINES, UNDER THE CUSTODY OF MARCOS REGIME LOYALISTS
New York Times
October 18, 1986

(Owensboro, KENTUCKY) - The quiet town of Owensboro had awoken to a tragic and dreadful morning upon learning that its cherished resident, rising actor in Johnny Depp, had been revealed to have died of neglect, while kept as a prisoner of war by the former Marcos regime loyalist forces in the Philippines. Depp, who was also revealed to have volunteered as a foreign fighter as a part of the International Legion of National Liberation for the Philippines, was in the country, while shooting the film, Platoon. The news of Depp's fate had been revealed by fellow actor Martin Kove, who also disclosed the abuses that captured pro-Aquino government forces had endured at the hands of their political rivals. The revelation of Depp's involvement in the Filipino Civil War has struck a blow at the Reagan administration's official policy of non-intervention in the ongoing internal conflict in the Philippines. As a result, furious residents in other parts of Kentucky have started to hold anti-Reagan rallies around the state.

"Our president has demonstrated his capacity for lying through his teeth when he said that we're not involved in the Filipino Civil War! We lost a cherished citizen of the state of Kentucky as a result of President Reagan's inability to enforce that moronic policy!" says an unnamed protester, during a rally in Frankfort. "Has the Republican Party abandoned its principles when they turned a blind eye to the number of Americans that have decided to 'volunteer' as 'humanitarian workers' in the Philippines?"

A recent poll had been taken a few days prior to the announcement of Depp's death, in which residents of Kentucky were asked whom they will vote for in the upcoming 1986 Mid-term elections. The results were stunning; over 53% of the residents of Kentucky said that they would vote either Democrat or Independent, if they were given the choice to do so. Since the announcement of Depp's death, there has been more clamoring for support towards the Democratic Party, albeit this is actually done out of opposition to President Reagan, rather than out of opposition towards the Republican Party. At the same time however, increased reports of more American 'volunteers' being kept as prisoners of war under Marcos regime loyalist forces' custody has resulted in serious questions being asked about the failed attempts by the Reagan administration to close the loop holes.

"I remember my cousin who went to the Philippines a few days before Marcos was ousted, but ended up with the so-called International Legion when the civil war broke out. I guess President Reagan didn't take that into account about other Americans already being in the Philippines, prior to the uprising," says Janet Pauker, when asked about the loop hole that President Reagan failed to close. "Now my family and I find out that my cousin has died of starvation in one of those POW camps held by the former dictator's goons."

---

Op-Ed: The Philippines and its Nuclear Flirtation
by: Milan Krivodolac
Polit-Blog, released April 17, 2018

The entire world has never been so nervous about the status of Southeast Asia in the nuclear age, despite being given the status of a nuclear free zone. Indeed, several SE Asian nations had built nuclear reactors for civilian purposes, including the Philippines. It was not until 1989 that they clarified that SE Asia was a nuclear weapons free zone, and not a nuclear energy free zone. The military dictatorship of Artemio Tadiar was seen as one of the most terrifying military dictatorships in the world, surpassing even that of Chile's dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, prior to his sidelining and usurpation by Alvaro Corbalan in 1999. It was so terrifying, mostly because of its willingness to militarize the entire country, just so it could stand a chance in a war with China. Indeed, during the Chinese aerial bombardment against the Philippines, international observers noticed that the People's Liberation Army Air Force had taken steps to avoid bombing the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (which was reactivated by the Tadiar regime in 1989), in order to avoid creating a fallout that would have added the body count to the already increased number of civilian deaths in the Philippines. Yet, hardline military figures within the Chinese PLA had criticized their fellow officers in the PLAAF for not targeting the nuclear power plant, stating that Tadiar would have been swamped by a large humanitarian crisis that it would result in his earlier downfall, and China would come in to help rebuild the Philippines. However, moderate voices within the Chinese government pointed out that destroying the nuclear power plant in the Philippines would not only render the entirety of northern Luzon as uninhabitable, but the sheer disaster and mass deaths would result in the international community declaring China as a "global aggressor state" that is responsible for "nuclear genocide". Yet, it did not stop the Tadiar regime from cultivating a dangerous and sinister desire to possess certain weapons of mass destruction. In 1996, following the shocking downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, various former Ba'athist Party officials and ex-Iraqi military officers had fled to the Philippines while carrying the surviving chemical weapons arsenal, which the Tadiar regime had acquired for its own research. However, it was an incident that was kept a secret from 1995, until 2005, that horrified the world.

You see, the Philippines' first foray in its flirtation with the idea of acquiring nuclear weapons was not by chance. Artemio Tadiar himself saw the benefits of enriching uranium for additional energy production, as well as potentially creating a crude nuclear bomb that could target anywhere in the world, and the nation that he wanted to get revenge on was obviously China. Moreover, what ultimately helped the Philippines advance its knowledge and learning of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons in question was the rise of a nationalist regime in the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The revived Ukrainian National Republic, under the acting junta led by Ihor Tenyukh, had been in a race against the Soviet forces inside Ukrainian territory for the repossession of the Soviet nuclear arsenal that was stationed in that territory, during the Second Russian Civil War. Most of the former 43rd Rocket Army that was stationed in Ukraine had been divided along political lines, with only the 37th Guards Rocket Division and the 50th Rocket Division siding with Ukrainian pro-independence forces, while the rest of the Rocket Divisions either defected to the rump Soviet Union (then changed to the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics), or joined the pro-Soviet Lukyanovite breakaway state in Eastern Ukraine that called itself the Ukrainian Soviet Sovereign Republic, claiming themselves as the successor to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Second Ukrainian War of Independence had a huge effect on the Ukrainian nation as a whole, and Ukraine's economic condition made it impossible to maintain the financial requirements to keep its nuclear arsenal, despite possessing mostly the nuclear bomber squadrons (as the UR-100N ICBMs and RT-23 Molodets missiles were the first ones to be taken by either pro-Soviet loyalist forces, or the UkSSR-aligned rebel forces). However, Ukraine was not short of nuclear scientists, as demonstrated by a few desperate nuclear scientists who were seduced by financial bonuses offered by the Tadiar regime. It was not by accident that on August 23, 1995, the Tadiar regime recognized Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, although the Philippines' diplomatic isolation imposed upon itself after the disastrous Spratly Islands conflict meant that the Philippines was limited in its diplomatic dealings. However, only four nations in the world still kept its diplomatic ties to the Philippines, despite its diplomatic isolation: Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Chile. However, in 1997, Vietnam and Ukraine would later be added to the list of nations that had limited diplomatic dealings with the Philippines. The ties with Ukraine was most crucial for Artemio Tadiar's regime, as its expertise in nuclear technology was needed for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant's maintenance. Starting in late 1997, a few Philippine military officers and scientists had been sent to Ukraine to study nuclear science, although various attempts by said officers to defect had been foiled by both NICA agents attached to the foreign exchange officer students, and the Ukrainian SBU.

Unfortunately, it was not China that would raise the alarm on the Philippines' attempt at fulfilling its ambitions of acquiring the technical expertise for the creation of a nuclear bomb, but Russia (as the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics would eventually be expelled from the UN for its brutality during the Second Russian Civil War, and re-admitted as the Russian National Federation), as one of the defectors, a certain Colonel Cirilito Sobejana, had managed to elude his NICA minders and made his way from his temporary residence in Odessa to Yevpatoriya in Crimea. His defection in 1999 was kept secret by Soviet (later Russian) intelligence, because they were skeptical at the idea of a third world country like the Philippines acquiring nuclear weapons. However, another defection, this time consisting of four Filipino nuclear scientists trained and educated in Lviv, had confirmed former Colonel Sobejana's claims that the Tadiar regime wanted to develop its own nuclear weaponry, potentially destroying the status of a nuclear weapons free zone in SE Asia as a whole, and that defection took place, prior to Tadiar's death in 2007. His successor, Hector Tarrazona, decided to keep the nuclear weapons program a secret, but by then, that program was already known in an secret reconnaissance and infiltration mission, codenamed Project Pineapple. Project Pineapple was a joint mission conducted by Russia and China, in response to the defections made by former Tadiar regime officials. It alerted the entire world to the danger of a nuclear-armed military junta leading the Philippines, and it nearly derailed the Philippines' attempt at ending its diplomatic isolation. Furthermore, the Russian government under President Dmitry Rogozin had also consulted with top military and intelligence leaders on a possible joint Russo-Chinese "Special Military Operation" as early as 2010, but it was his successor in President Alexey Zhuravlyov who had began to form the plans that would potentially lead to that dreaded SMO, in which they would 'De-nuclearize" the Philippines and restoring the status of the nuclear weapons free zone for all of SE Asia. However, the Tadiar-backed nuclear weapons ambitions had also encouraged other SE Asian nations to pursue such programs as well. Vietnam after the Spratlys conflict, had considered breaking the taboo on nuclear weapons in SE Asia, and had in fact, approached the Soviet Union (the Sovereign Republic one, not the Socialist Republic one) for help with its nuclear program, only to be rejected for fear of destabilizing SE Asia by their nuclear ambitions. Luckily, while Tadiar was still alive, he sent his Ukrainian-trained nuclear scientists to teach their Vietnamese and Indonesian apprentices on the wonders of nuclear technology. However, by the time Tarrazona succeeded Tadiar as the new military dictator of the Philippines, several significant reforms had taken place, mostly in the educational sector, where emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics was stressed, as a way of emulating Israel's cultivation of its educated elites.

Yet, even Ukraine had to warn the Philippines against developing its nuclear weapons, because if the world had learned of its role in allowing the Philippines to learn how to build certain weapons of mass destruction, it would have painted a tempting target on its back and would have given Russia a justification to increase its aggression on Ukraine. Indeed, the establishment of the Intermarium Community back in 1998 in Krakow, Poland, had been beneficial for the Eastern European nations that wanted to retain their independence from the rump Soviet Union (and later, Russia). It was the Intermarium Community that allowed Eastern Europe to forge closer economic, diplomatic, political, and military ties that made it easier for them to be admitted into both the European Continental Association and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Indeed, the diplomatic clout that the Intermarium Community had exercised during the Second Korean War was enough to deter Philippine forces from doing something completely idiotic, like invading the Russian Far East to eliminate a group of renegade North Korean military mutineers that have taken shelter within the RFE, after a power struggle that failed to overthrow Kim Jong Il. At the same time however, the gradual easing of the Philippines' diplomatic isolation also meant that the Intermarium Community would also send their citizens to help the Tadiar regime with the semi-modernization of the Philippine economy, but it was not until Tadiar's death in 2007 that the Intermarium Community would expand their cooperation to include areas of nuclear science. However, the announcement that the Philippines had reached a capability to build a nuclear bomb by Hector Tarrazona in 2009 had accelerated the plans made by Russia and China for that de-nuclearized "Special Military Operation". Indeed, it was only after the Seventh Philippine Republic was established, with Grace Poe as its first post-junta President, that there were talks of gradual climb down from building nuclear bombs to using the nuclear missile technology, and reorient it towards civilian purposes between the Poe administration and the international community.

The Philippines' flirtation with nuclear technology was born out of a necessity that was shaped by its conflict with its neighbor to the north, China. Moreover, the chronic power outages that the entire population suffered from the 1990s onwards had been a source of irritation for the Tadiar dictatorship, which explained why Artemio Tadiar himself paid attention to the maintenance of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. However, the announcement made by the Poe administration to launch a construction of an earthquake-proof nuclear power plant was met with protests in 2013, when the residents of Tanauan, Leyte Prefecture, had organized a rally aimed at shutting down the proposed project, fearing that the construction of another nuclear plant would have a detrimental effect on their health. Even after the death of Tadiar and the fall of the Tarrazona junta, the Philippines' continued flirtation with nuclear technology had divided the nation. Its flirtation with nuclear technology had also resulted in an unintentional consequence geopolitically, as a nuclear-armed Philippines was something that both Russia and China were adamantly opposed to. It is no wonder that the planned de-Nuclearized "Special Military Operation" was going to be called Operation: L.

---

AQUINO GOVERNMENT URGED BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO EVACUATE FROM MANILA AS MARCOS REGIME LOYALISTS FORCES EDGE TOWARDS CAPITAL
Vancouver Sun
September 30, 1986

(Manila, PHILIPPINES) - The international community has urged the Aquino administration in the Philippines to relocate its seat of government to a more secure area, while the forces loyal to former President Ferdinand Marcos are bearing closer towards the Philippine capital. To no one's surprise, President Corazon Aquino has refused to accept controversial Philippine Marine Corps officer Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar's offer of hosting the legitimate Philippine government in Kabankalan, preferring to establish an interim seat of power in Sorsogon City, which is located in southeastern Luzon. President Aquino's choice of the interim seat of power however, places her within direct range of the New People's Army, whose militants had made progress in their eastward expansion throughout the province of Camarines Norte. At the same time though, various troops from what's left of the Philippine military that remained loyal to the embattled President had gathered around the Philippine capital, awaiting a battle that is expected to be the heaviest urban battle to take place in the Philippines since the urban combat that took place in Cabanatuan City, a few months prior to the current Marcos regime loyalist offensive. As a result of the evacuation of the government to Sorsogon City, President Aquino has appointed newly promoted Brigadier General Gregorio Honasan as the commander of the Manila Garrison and the acting Mayor of Manila, with the previous Mayor of Manila, Gemiliano Lopez, who was recently killed in an airstrike carried out by the 3rd Fighter Wing (the only Philippine Air Force squadron that sided with the Marcos regime loyalists, while other PAF squadrons either sided with President Aquino, or Brigadier General Tadiar) two days before the government's relocation to Sorsogon City.

"It is expected that Manila will witness some heavy fighting in the coming days. As a result, we have taken precautions to evacuate the entire civilian population of the capital to other parts of the Philippines. As it pains me to say this, we had to approach Brigadier General Tadiar for help with hosting some of the civilian refugees that we evacuated from Manila," says BGen. Honasan, during a press conference in Pasay City. "In return, BGen. Tadiar has offered to send three platoons of Marines to help defend Manila, and to carry out guerrilla attacks on Marcos regime loyalist positions."

The news of BGen. Artemio Tadiar's assistance in the defense of the Philippine capital was met with skepticism by the Aquino camp, who still saw the Butcher of Ortigas Avenue in a negative light. It was from within the Marcos camp however, that gave out their loudest outrage, as Acting Vice President Fabian Ver had criticized BGen. Honasan's plea to Tadiar to host the displaced civilians from Manila.

"Has BGen. Honasan forgotten about the role that renegade butcher played in Ortigas Avenue? The very same man whom our President has explicitly ordered to not open fire on civilians in Ortigas, is now helping the Aquino government defend the capital?" says Acting Vice President Ver sarcastically. "If this isn't a definition of irony, then I don't know what is."

Military experts from both sides of the Cold War expect that the first town that the former Marcos regime loyalists will capture is the town of Norzagaray. Situated on the river that bore the same name as the town, it is also well defended by both the Philippine Constabulary forces and regular Philippine Army forces that were deployed to that region. In addition, the famous Marine Special Operations Group, which was originally called the Marine Force Recon Battalion, was deployed to nearby towns surrounding Norzagaray, to scout and lay traps for the Marcos regime loyalist forces. However, opposing the defenders of Norzagaray are the veterans of the northern Luzon campaign that swelled the ranks of the Marcos loyalist forces, although frequent mutinies and desertions had weakened much of their fighting force, as increased reports of former President Marcos's corruption and graft had spread among the regime loyalist troops. Indeed, both Acting Vice President Ver and President Aquino had confirmed that around 15 Marcos loyalist troops had surrendered to Major Edgardo Doromal's forces in the nearby town of Angat, citing the disillusionment that has taken hold of the former regime loyalists that gave up the fight.

"If we can continue with the propaganda war against the Marcos regime loyalist forces, we can easily win the Battle for Manila, with less casualties than needed," says President Aquino, while addressing government officials in Sorsogon City. "Sapping the enemy's morale is just as important as decisively defeating them in battle as well."

---

WIFE OF EXILED FILIPINO-CHINESE OLIGARCH LOUIS COSON KILLED BY A CAR BOMB AIMED ORIGINALLY FOR COSON IN MACAU, ASSASSIN EVADED AUTHORITIES AND RETURNED HOME
The Korea Times
April 10, 2012

(Macau, MACAU SAR, CHINA) - In what is essentially the biggest incident to take place in the Asian continent in the post-Filipino junta period, the wife of exiled Filipino-Chinese oligarch Louis Coson, was killed with a car bomb. The car bomb, which had originally aimed to kill Louis Coson himself, was instead planted on a different car that was used by Teresita Sy-Coson. The car blew up while Teresita Sy-Coson was driving along Almeida Ribeiro Avenue, past the famous ruins of St. Paul's Church, and additionally, several other civilians were injured and/or killed in the incident as well. Although no one has identified the assassin who was responsible for this kind of heinous terrorist attack, it is suspected that the assassin may have been aided by NICA agents that still held ties and loyalty to the old Tadiar dictatorship. However, a photograph of an assassin was revealed by Chinese state television, in an effort to learn the identity of that assassin in question. It is not sure what was the motive for the planned assassination of Louis Coson, but the Chinese government suspected that leftover Tadiar loyalist diehards that still retained their positions within the Grace Poe administration had planned the assassination.

"There is no doubt in my mind that former Tadiar loyalists wanted me dead for one thing only: because I blew the whistle on their activities, and the scam that they pulled, when they tricked us into investing in a business opportunity that turned out to be fake," says Coson, during an interview with Russia Today. "I was among the victims of the infamous Next Millenium Macau Business Project Scam that was orchestrated by the former Tadiar regime and its partners in organized crime, namely the Taiwanese Bamboo Gang and the Japanese Yakuza."

The claims of a Japanese underworld connection to the murder of Teresita Sy-Coson has not yet been refuted, although newly rising Japanese Diet politician and founder of the Japanese National Syndicalist People's Party, Taro Yamamoto, has confirmed Mr. Coson's claims of Yakuza connection to the murder attempt. Moreover, the shocking murder of Ms. Sy-Coson comes at a time when the Philippines is struggling to move on from the dark years of the Tadiar and Tarrazona dictatorships, on top of a failed chance at building a new democratic Philippines after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. Furthermore, the political, ideological, and racial radicalization that has taken hold of the Philippines after the rise of unsavory politicians like Larry Gadon, Elly Pamatong, and Nicanor Faeldon (often dubbed as the Filipino Triumvirate) back in 1996. In addition to claims of a Yakuza connection to the murder of Ms. Sy-Coson, the Chinese government also claimed that the Tadiar diehards had hired Uyghur mercenaries to carry out the deed.

"It wouldn't be surprising if we learned about the role of the Uyghur terrorists in this dastardly attack on Madame Sy-Coson, given that the former Tadiar dictatorship had trained the Uyghur separatists in the Philippines for the purpose of instigating an ethnic uprising in Xinjiang," says Li Minqi, a professor at Beijing University. "In fact, someone claimed that they found a forged passport of an Uyghur man with a Filipino first name, and a Japanese surname. I mean, what kind of an Uyghur Muslim man would call himself Pedro Toguchi?"

---

"Diomidean Eurasianism is a different strain of the wider Eurasianist ideology that is rooted in traditionalism, fascism, Nazism, and Japanese style Statism, as opposed to the Duginean branch of Eurasianism that is founded in National Bolshevism. Diomideanism, which came from the controversial head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Diomid I, was seen as a more acceptable branch of Eurasianism that the Russian far-right could accept. Let us not forget that Diomidean Eurasianism had advocated that the Eurasian supercontinent should have five pillars: Europe, the Russian and Central Asian heartland, the Middle East, and the Greater East Asia-Pacific region. Europe, which will serve as the western shield for Russia, would have far-right regimes that have a Strasserite streak in them, while the Asia-Pacific region will serve as Russia's eastern shield, and would have the same kind of far-right regimes installed in it. Unlike Duginean Eurasianism, which wanted to cut China down to size, Diomidean Eurasianism advocated for China to remain a strictly land based power with a significant naval presence in the wider Pacific Rim. Diomidean Eurasianism also wanted peaceful co-existence with the Anglo-American establishment, as long as they wouldn't intrude on each other's spheres of influence, but was also aware that they would not be able to co-exist with the Anglo-Americans. All the same, Diomidean Eurasianism is far more dangerous, because its ties to the Russian Imperial Movement had made it hostile to Western values. Above all else, Diomidean Eurasianism is extremely anti-Semitic, in that their declaration to the world that 'Globalism is a Jewish Acid', has garnered outrage in Israel, where much of Russian Jews had migrated to. Within Russia however, Diomidean Eurasianism is a building block for Russian irredentism, where they want to forcibly reincorporate the lands of the former Tsarist Empire, except for Alaska. Most importantly, Diomidean Eurasianism is also guided by anti-Catholicism of the worst Byzantine-esque kind, as Patriarch Diomid has often called for the abolition of the Papacy, and the restoration of the title of 'Patriarch of the West', something that wasn't held by the Pope in a very long time. Their desire to destroy the power of Papal Catholicism has resulted in their hare-brained schemes to forcibly sever the communion between the Western Catholic Churches in Europe, Latin America, and the Philippines on one hand, and the Holy See on the other, and forcing them to enter into a communion with the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, but allowing them to keep their Western Rites." Siaimon Domash, during a speech in the Belarusian Rada, June 16, 2014.

---

AQUINO GOVERNMENT FORCES CAUGHT BY SURPRISE AS MARCOS REGIME LOYALIST TROOPS ADVANCE CLOSER TOWARDS BATAAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Manila Times
October 7, 1986

(Bataan Nuclear Power Plant) - In what was a major deception pulled by Marcos regime loyalist forces, the defenders of the town of Norzagaray were expecting a major offensive to come their way, but were stunned to see that not a single force was coming closer towards the town. Instead, the Marcos regime loyalists had turned westwards, towards the city of San Fernando, Pampanga (from their occupied portion of Baliuag, Bulacan), where the city is defended by stragglers from the Philippine Army that were left behind in the retreat from Cabanatuan City. Within several hours, the city of San Fernando had fallen to Marcos regime loyalist forces, forcing the defenders to make their way towards Bataan Province, especially the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. In yet another stunning move, most of the Marcos regime loyalists began their southward advance towards Zambales and Bataan Provinces, capturing town after town, as many civilians had started to flee from their homes to avoid being ruled by former President Marcos once again. However, in a twist of fate, much of the Marcos regime loyalist forces were now being subjected to ambushes and pot shots by Philippine Marine Corps soldiers fighting under the command of Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar. Yet, the Tadiar-aligned Marine Corps only sent thirty troops to Luzon, while keeping the rest of the Marines in Visayas and Mindanao to continue the fight against the New People's Army.

"Our objective is to not defeat the Marcos regime loyalist forces bearing down on the Bataan Peninsula, but rather to slow them down. We have to buy time for our erstwhile 'allies' to reorganize their forces elsewhere," comments BGen. Tadiar, when asked by local journalists on his decision to deploy a few number of soldiers to Bataan Province. "We are already stretched too thin on multiple fronts, and the larger presence of the communists in southeastern Luzon and eastern Mindanao require our expertise in hunting them down and eliminating them."

The news of the Marcos regime loyalist offensive in Bataan raised fears once again that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant might be damaged from the inevitable heavy fighting, and while the joint Soviet-Vietnamese navies had returned to their base in Cam Ranh Bay, the US 7th Fleet subsequently deployed a few of their forward vessels to join the USS Enterprise inside Philippine waters: the USS Blue Ridge, which was the flag ship of the 7th Fleet and was known for helping with the evacuation of Vietnamese civilians fleeing from the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, and the USS Rodney M. Davis, which was sent to join the other ships operating in Philippine waters. Moreover, the growing American naval presence in SE Asia has resulted in a small deployment of Type 8154 naval trawlers by the People's Liberation Army Navy, just several hundred miles off the coast of northern Luzon, as well as the deployment of all 5 Turya-class torpoedo boats by the Vietnamese Navy, just within the waters of the disputed Spratly Island chain.

"We fear that this civil war in the Philippines is attracting unwanted attention from our adversaries, and we call on the navies of China and Vietnam to pull their vessels away from our territorial waters," urges President Corazon Aquino, during a live broadcast in Sorsogon City. "As the US Navy's 7th Fleet is there to keep us safe, we do not need to contribute to the outbreak of World War Three by presiding over a shooting conflict between our American ally and our enemies to the west and the north."

Well, in the case of Cory, she had to appear like an anti-communist because she’s already accused of stacking her cabinet with leftists ITTL. And even Tadiar would be collaborating with Vietnam as well.

I didn’t realize that TTL’s protests in Ilocos Norte was based on what’s happening right now, but I did insert another real life based event in the recent update as well.

And yes, Pirates of the Caribbean will not be a thing.

In the original version, Ralph Macchio is starring at an alternate movie that serves as a replacement for Pirates of the Caribbean.

I remember all too well the power outages that we often had when I was a kid, so that was why ITTL the Philippines developing a love for nuclear energy is a bold undertaking.

That is true, which is why I wonder if the Bataan Nuclear Plant is actually safe from earthquakes IOTL. Though, given the typhoon seasons that also occurred seasonally, I think that the nuclear reactors also have to be protected against typhoons as well.

Now the situation in Asia is complicated. India is a member of the NAM but has friendly relations with the USSR and cordial relations with the United States. China at this period was a quasi-ally/partner to contain the USSR.

Sig MPXs weren't available in 1986. They were only produced in 2019 OTL.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE FILIPINO CIVIL WAR PART EIGHT

BATAAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FALLS TO PRO-MARCOS REGIME LOYALIST FORCES AS SURVIVING DEFENDERS OPT FOR SUICIDAL LAST DITCH INFANTRY CHARGE
Manila Times
November 22, 1986

(Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, BATAAN) - In a repeat of the tragic end of the defense of Cabanatuan City, the defenders of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant had perished in the last ditch infantry charge as they fought the advancing Marcos regime loyalist forces to death, mainly by close quarters combat. Consequently, the deaths of the defenders of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant had resulted in the full capture of the nuclear plant by former Marcos regime loyalist forces, even as numerous desertions had been reported by both pro-Marcos and anti-Marcos factions. What is even more interesting at the same time though, was that out of 800 troops that defended the power plant, only 170 troops came from the Philippine Marines that are aligned with controversial officer in Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar. The shocking defeat at the hands of the Marcos regime loyalist forces had now ensured that the clear path towards the town of Mariveles would be open, as well as Mount Mariveles, which the Marcos regime loyalist forces viewed as a critical strategic point, would also be open to capture. It is also becoming clear that in addition to Mariveles, Corregidor Island would also be a crucial target as well. By capturing Mariveles and Corregidor Island, the capital city of Manila and parts of southern Luzon would be subjected to a naval blockade, but it is unsure as to how many naval vessels that are fighting under each of the three factions that are fighting in the Filipino Civil War. The fall of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant has also damaged the credibility of the Corazon Aquino administration, as it demonstrated her complete inability to stand up to her widely despised predecessor. At the same time, much of the military officers that have aligned with Brigadier General Tadiar had criticized their de facto commander in chief for the needless loss of Marines in the futile defense of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, to which Tadiar hit back, defending his actions.

"What do you want me to do? To do nothing while Marcos succeeds in getting his Presidency back? He's dying, for God's sakes!" Tadiar shouts while addressing his junior officers. "We swore to fight our enemies, within and external, and the Marcos loyalists and communists are our enemies right now!"

The debacle in Bataan has only benefited one additional faction so far: the communists under the command of the New People's Army have used the distractions to expand their control of southeastern Luzon, as evident by the recent capture of De Galego, in the province of Camarines Norte. Since the Norzagaray Offensive, the Aquino government forces had failed to notice a large group of NPA forces that have managed to launch a new offensive into the Bicol region, and buoyed by the recent atrocities committed against the civilian population in areas that are under the control of Marcos regime loyalist forces in northern Luzon, and in eastern Visayas, where pro-Tadiar paramilitary forces called Alsa Masa had massacred the protesters in response to the growing number of food and fuel riots breaking out. The news of the massacres had only fueled the civilians' anger towards all three factions, which contributed to the mass recruitment drive that benefited the New People's Army. In the quasi-state of the so-called Tayabas People's Republic, vengeful farmers and unemployed workers had started to collaborate with New People's Army militias in hunting down the remaining business owners who still operated within the breakaway state, often looting their properties and killing the owners they've captured. In what has emerged as the biggest mass protest in the Philippines since the EDSA Revolution of February of 1986, many people have started to hold anti-Aquino rallies throughout the areas of the Philippines not under either communist, Marcos regime loyalist, or Tadiar-aligned factions. The protests were aimed at the Aquino government's failure to solve the issues that plagued her government since the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos.

"I cannot believe what I'm about to say, but Artemio Tadiar is right when he says that Corazon Aquino is an incompetent asshole who doesn't have any political experience in dealing with the problems we're facing!" says an unnamed female protester who also took part in the EDSA Revolution, ironically in favor of the President she now protests against. "Corazon Aquino is a disgrace to the Philippines, and Ferdinand Marcos is a despised has-been. It's time for us to embrace radical solutions to address the problem at hand."

---

REVOLUTION IN INDONESIA! MILITARY COUP LAUNCHED BY MILITARY OFFICERS RESIGNING FROM THEIR POST OVER SUHARTO'S INABILITY TO HANDLE INSTABILITY AS A RESULT OF SALIM GROUP FOUNDER'S DEATH
The Jakarta Post
November 22, 1986

(Jakarta, SPECIAL CAPITAL REGION) - As fresh protests continue to erupt throughout Indonesia, a troubling pattern has emerged from within the Suharto regime: hundreds of military officers from all branches of Indonesia's armed forces have resigned or deserted from their posts in frustration at their commander in chief's inability to respond to the growing anger that was directed at them from an outraged public over the gruesome murder of Sudono Salim and his son Albert Salim by vigilantes, during one of the race riots in the capital city of Jakarta. In addition, one of the military officers that resigned from his post, a certain Prabowo Subianto, has called for Suharto to be impeached for various crimes related to graft, cronyism, and many other various charges, up to and including a conspiracy to commit murder, referencing the rumors of Suharto's hand in the deaths of the Salims. The calls for impeachment emerged after those disaffected military officers that resigned, had launched a coup, effectively deposing Suharto from his seat of power. Both Subianto and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie had declared the formation of a Transitionary Council that will help transition Indonesia from authoritarian rule to a full fledged democracy. Unlike neighboring Philippines, which saw its attempt to transition into democracy from its own episode of authoritarian rule blunder into a civil war, much of Indonesia's rank and file personnel within its armed forces had supported the coup, and officers and regular soldiers who still maintained their loyalty to the recently deposed dictator were promptly arrested and incarcerated, as to prevent any counter-revolutionary reaction to the coup. Throughout various cities within Indonesia, many civilians waved Indonesian flags and sang patriotic songs while celebrating the downfall of Suharto.

"I've waited for this moment since 1965. I believe that the authoritarian rule of Suharto has made our country a lot worse in terms of how the wealth gap has widened," says Musa Hidayat, during a rally in the city of Balikpapan, in the Indonesian half of Borneo, which the Indonesians call Kalimantan. "We have a lot of work to do to improve our country, before we're ready to regain our place in the world, and cleaning up the country of Suharto's corruption is the first step."

The last months of Suharto's regime was notorious for its increased rate of racially-motivated persecutions against Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority, as the riots and pogroms had resulted in a small exodus of Chinese Indonesians towards Singapore. The Singaporean government has not only opened its doors to Chinese Indonesian refugees fleeing from the ethnic violence, but has also stream lined the process for any Chinese in other parts of SE Asia that wanted to move to Singapore, making it easier for them to immigrate. In response to the pogroms, the Taiwanese government has sharply condemned the brutal pogroms launched by unidentified hooligans that were rumored to have been connected to the Suharto regime. Likewise, both Great Britain and Portugal, which controlled the cities of Hong Kong and Macau respectively, has issued their own stern warnings towards the Indonesian government during the last few months of Suharto's regime. Now that the coup was launched, the international community is awaiting news of a new government that will replace the one formerly led by Suharto.

"As of right now, we are currently deciding as to who will serve in the Transitionary Council, so that we can stop any politician who served Suharto from joining. We had to resort to such strict measures, so we would stop anyone from subverting the revolution that we launched against Suharto," says Try Sutrisno, one of the military officers who joined Prabowo Subianto and B. J. Habibie in the Transitionary Council. "The number of politicians who were aligned with Suharto are quite large, so essentially we have to start from scratch."

Much of the members of the Transitionary Council consisted of former activists who were forced into the underground by the Suharto regime, as well as military officers that resigned from their posts had joined the military wing of the Transitionary Council, called the Officers for the Liberation of Indonesia. As much of the military had been purged of pro-Suharto loyalists, with not a single officer being able to defect to neighboring Philippines, it is widely believed that the Indonesian public would not have to fear from the military, as a majority of them supported the downfall of Suharto. Moreover, there were more announcements made by the Transitionary Council, regarding the plans for a new election that will be held sometime in 1987.

"While the Transitionary Council remains in charge of Indonesia's government, we cannot suddenly announce for new elections right away, until we've succeeded in eliminating the possibility of pro-Suharto candidates from ever gaining power," says Subianto, during a rally in Jakarta while addressing the protesters that came out to demonstrate against Suharto. "Your support was crucial in triggering the collapse of Suharto's dictatorship, and we will continue to rely on your wholehearted support for the transition to a new, democratic government."

---

(This segment replaces the Interview with Serikbolsyn Abdildin due to continuity issues. Will post the revised version under a new OMAKE)

"The events in the Philippines had a major effect on the rest of SE Asia. You must understand that the brutal crackdown on the protesters in Manila during the 1986 EDSA Uprising, albeit unintentional, had shaped our approach to how we had to deal with our own protests. We just stood and waited while the students were chanting pro-democracy slogans and calling for the liberalization of our government. I advised former Premier Li Peng on the hands off approach to see how the students will react. We got lucky, as the student organizations had began to fight amongst themselves as to who will become the nominal head of the entire group, while the workers' group that sided with the student protesters were furious at the idea of allowing the students to lead the pro-democracy movement. In the end, my approach had worked, as the student leaders spent more time arguing with each other than marching around Tiananmen Square, chanting slogans. The PLA were also at loggerheads with each other and with the government on how to deal with the student protesters, but my strict advice to Premier Li had stuck, and the PLA soldiers remained on guard. The students did win some significant concessions from us, as well as the workers. For instance, we carefully slowed down Comrade Deng's economic reforms so that it could become more flexible. Something we did learn and taught our Soviet comrades, and especially necessary, as the Soviet Union had also been in the grip of the same kind of pro-democracy craze. Yet, the bloody collapse of the Soviet Union along nationalist lines had also shaped our foreign policy, as we feared that the instability within the Central Asian republics of the USSR would negatively affect the events in Xinjiang." Ye Fei, during a speech in Pyongyang, North Korea, 1994.


---

CHAKHOTHI UNDER SIEGE AS INDIAN ARMY LAUNCHES OFFENSIVE INTO AZAD KASHMIR PROVINCE, PAKISTANI FORCES RUSHED TO RELIEVE BESIEGED CITY
Sydney Herald
November 28, 1986

(Chakhothi, PAKISTAN) - While the world is slowly turning away from the ongoing civil war in the Philippines, the Indian military has launched an offensive as the 62nd Cavalry Regiment arrived at the Jhelum and Chakhothi Rivers to besiege the city. Accompanying the 62nd Cavalry Regiment were the 66th Armored Regiment (which arrived at the opposite side of the Jhelum River), the 166th Medium Regiment (an artillery regiment that would play a major role in stopping any Pakistani attempt at reinforcing the besieged city), and the Rajputana Rifles (which would be used to help with the Indian advance into the city). Opposing the Indian forces besieging the city of Chakhothi were the bulk of the I Corps, which were stationed in Azad Kashmir itself. The offensive into Chakhothi was meant to serve as the main focus of the campaign, while other Indian forces concentrated their efforts in Pakistan's own portion of the Punjab region, as well as the disputed regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Many military experts predicted that the Indian offensive into Azad Kashmir may end up being a long campaign, with much of the terrain favoring the defenders. However, Pakistan's growing internal instability as a result of a renewed Baloch rebellion that was triggered by a successful Indian thrust into Pakistan's Punjab province, and an ongoing joint Soviet-Afghan offensive in northern Afghanistan against the Mujahideen. In fact, the Indian military leadership had made it clear that the capture of the entirety of Pakistan's controlled territory in the Jammu and Kashmir region was necessary, in order for any future military aid coming to India from the Soviet Union, as evident by the Soviet government's offer of military aid to the Indian government. So far, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has not yet responded, but Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo has come out to denounce the Indian invasion of Pakistan.

"The world now sees India for what they are: a brutal, militaristic state that will not hesitate to mutilate our territorial integrity," says Prime Minister Junejo, during a speech in Pakistan's Majlis-e-Shura, or the Pakistani parliament. "However, I think that the Soviet Union has a hand in India's invasion of our nation, or they would not have escalated their conflict in Afghanistan without India's support. We know that India has also sided with the Soviets in the conflict just across the border from us, and the jihad against the atheistic infidels have not yet collapsed. I therefore, call upon the wider Muslim community to send aid to us in our hour of need."

The escalated conflict has made American weapons delivery to the Mujahideen a bit more difficult, given that Pakistan's own military needs have replaced it as the top priority for the military supplies that are being sent to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the Reagan administration's proposal to send military aid to Pakistan in an attempt to help them repel the Indian invasion of that country has been mired in a deadlock, with an increasingly Democrat-dominated lower and upper house skeptical and reluctant to give more military aid to Pakistan. Likewise, China under Premier Hu Yaobang has also condemned the Indian invasion, and has started to send troops to the southern border, while Britain under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has called the Indian government out for their naked aggression against a sovereign country.

"We stand in solidarity with Pakistan, who's facing a full scale invasion from India, as a result of a border skirmish gone wrong. We call upon the Indian government to cease their military adventurism in Pakistan, and withdraw their troops at once, or we will have to send troops to intervene in this conflict," Thatcher warns, during a news conference in London, while meeting with Pakistani diplomats to discuss the conflict in the Punjab region.

However, Thatcher's warning to India was swiftly dismissed by Prime Minister Gandhi, who gave a harsh rebuke to his British counterpart.

"Who was it that was responsible for the convoluted mess that we have today in the subcontinent? We're still dealing with the aftermath of the Partition, and on top of that, your government still behaves like an imperial power towards us. Ms. Thatcher, you are dealing with the Republic of India, not the British Raj!" Gandhi shouted during a heated session in the Indian parliament. "This kind of behavior is inappropriate for such a country that still has imperial pretensions."

---

"We, the people of India, and the Indian government, do hereby withdraw our membership from the Commonwealth of Nations, as a result of Britain's snobbish behavior towards our nation as a whole. They convieniently forgot that they played a role in the partition of our nation, and they still haven't apologized for the Bengali Famine of 1943. Britain has a lot of blood on its hands, and a lot of blood has come from dead Indians that suffered under British colonial rule. We swore to move on from the nightmarish episode of the British Raj, and we have succeeded in doing so, building up a Republic that we're proud to live in. As of today, December 5, 1986, the Republic of India is no longer a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and we call upon other nations around the world that have suffered from British colonialism to withdraw as well. We don't need Britain to boss us anymore. We, the people of India, will decide on our own actions and our own destinies." Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, on the announcement of India's withdrawal of its membership from the Commonwealth of Nations.

Not that much, but I would have thought that a more aggressive Indian military adventurism would have jeopardized the war effort to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan, and thus Britain might be more pressured to join the Americans in protecting the conduit for military supplies. Keep in mind that Britain at this time period has a slightly growing Pakistani diaspora within its borders, and they could be more influential than their local Indian diaspora counterparts.

And given the main reason for the rewrite was because of current political events, this timeline has now become a massive reboot. Plus given yet another recent event that has happened, I might create a scenario where an alternate Scottish independence movement goes on the same trajectory as the OTL Quebec independence referendum. We might also see a slightly stronger or weaker republican movements in the Commonwealth nations as a result of India’s withdrawal of its membership ITTL.