World War III - Spratly Islands

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World War III was a war fought in the Pacific and Asian regions for control over the Spratly Islands, and later the control of Australia and Korea.

Causes
In mid-2017 the Peoples Republic of China invaded the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. In response, the members of ASEAN declared war on the PRC. However, due to a lack of military structure and command, many ASEAN nations fell quickly, particularly in the Indochinese peninsula. Australia cut off China's main sources of uranium and ores and thus China declared war on the continental country in order to gain these essential materials.

Course of the war
On 4th July 2018, Chinese troops landed on the northern peninsula of Queensland, Australia, with the goal of making the remaining ASEAN nations surrender to China in fear of being suddenly invaded. Due to the number of troops heading southwards towards Townsville, and it being winter, which suited the Chinese, the tactic of the 1942 Brisbane Line was immediately considered as a viable defence plan. United States Air Force paratroopers landed behind the front lines of the Chinese troops, and made a shocking discovery: Cairns had been bombed, with half of its population dead, and no supplies to help the wounded. The United Nations Security Council then proceeded to ask NATO to intervene, with protest from Russia, who declared war on NATO.

This promptly started World War III, as Russia and the US were the two largest superpowers on the planet. During the war, United States president Donald Trump stated multiple times that "I was seeking a better relationship with Putin, but this war has ruined it". An informal agreement between all nuclear countries banned the use of nuclear weapons in the war, however this was ignored by both states on one occasion.

Chinese troops were quick to take Rockampton, and suffered next to no casualties due to the absence of Australian divisions, most of which had moved to Brisbane. The result was Australia ceding the northern state of Queensland (minus South East Queensland and the Gympie area) and the Northern Territory minus the areas around Ayers Rock, in which the local Aboriginals wanted to stay with the parliament. This was a armistice agreement that would last eight years. Australia then declared republican status and renamed to the Republic of South Eastern Australia, still keeping its formal name of the Republic of Australia. The armistice allowed Australia to fortify its defences in case China decided to attack after the armistice expired.

Trump then focused on possibly invading Russia, removing a potential problem for the Allies. On the anniversary of the declaration of war, Independence Day became the Russian Invasion Day, with American troops suddenly taking large swaths of land in Siberia. When Vladimir Putin heard of this, he ordered a nuclear strike against the United States capital. However, the missiles were struck down by anti-missile defences, with only one detonating in an eastern part of a Virginian city, causing 1.3 million civilian casualties. Trump then promptly ordered a counterattack, and forty Russian and Chinese cities were nuked. However, a second wave was avoided when he was assassinated by an advisor.

China refused to cooperate with the United States, and thus broke the Brisbane Line by attempting an invasion of Brisbane. NATO and ASEAN collectively essentially gave 5 million personnel to Australia, and New Zealand declared war on China. This extra personnel was shared between the Brisbane Line and a new front in Manchuria and North Korea, which had already attempted a nuclear strike at both the United States and Australia. For seven years, the Siege of Brisbane was battled in the Sunshine Coast, turning a once beautiful region into flames. The Brisbane CBD and Airport were bombed by the Chinese, with Brisbaners having to travel to the Gold Coast for air travel. For unknown reasons, the Chinese did not bomb the tourist centre, presumably so that damages would be minimal and to gain revenue if the war was won.

Meanwhile, Chinese troops, along with a huge army given to China by BRICS, met the Allies in Manchuria. Having quickly taken North Korea and forcing a small way into Manchuria, the reinforcements forced the front lines into a stalemate, only broken in the north by bombings. The armies were forced to dig in. No changes in territory was recorded between 2020 and 2027, however heavy casualties due to guerrilla warfare resulted in the line breaking on both sides numerous times.

In 2027, Australian forces found a break in the Brisbane line, and surprised the Chinese by invading the Sunshine Coast, pushing the enemy back as far as Rockampton when the Chinese forces surrendered to the Australian Government. This allowed the Australian forces to be redirected towards Manchuria, allowing a massive break in the Manchurian Line. On 31st August, 2027, Allied forces captured Beijing, and a surprise invasion by the Republic of Taiwan shocked the PRC into capitulation the 3rd September.

After the war, a minor scuffle between the Republics of New Zealand and Australia and the Commonwealth leader United Kingdom was recorded, but no official declaration of war was signed.

Treaty of the Sunshine Coast
The Treaty was signed on Australia Day, 26th January 2028.

Article 1

 * The People's Republic of China will cede Manchuria and the area around Shanghai to the Republic of Korea.
 * The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be annexed by the Republic of Korea.
 * The People's Republic of China will cede the State of Queensland and the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth of Australia.

Article 2

 * The People's Republic of China will be replaced by the Republic of China, which is currently residing in Taiwan.
 * The Commonwealths of Australia and New Zealand will become republics.
 * All members of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's government will be held on trial for human rights crimes by the United Nations.
 * The United States and the United Kingdom will provide humanitarian aid for peoples affected by the war.

Article 3

 * The Russian Federation will cede Siberia to the United States.
 * No country can go to war with any other for 30 years.
 * The Republic of Australia will gain membership of both NATO and ASEAN.
 * New Zealand will start neutrality status.