Chapter 45: The Three Principles of Peacekeeping Engagement (Requesting Recommendation Votes)

In foreign countries, especially in war-torn regions, when citizens encounter any danger or difficulty abroad, the embassy and the peacekeeping forces of their home country are inevitably their greatest source of safety.

This was exactly what Xing Xiaolong firmly believed.

Yet Louis Gabriel Largas, this middle-aged white man exuding a noble aura, shattered this universally acknowledged truth and put forth an utterly unexpected, bizarre request to Xing Xiaolong.

Louis clearly knew what had happened, but did not utter a single word about it. Not only did he refrain from seeking assistance from the peacekeeping forces or the embassy, but he even went out of his way to conceal the truth.

Could it be that Louis was acquainted with the high-ranking officials of the Karhema government?

Or perhaps he had some undisclosed connection with one of the tribal authorities or the anti-government guerrilla factions?

Or was it possible that he commanded his own private armed force?

Xing Xiaolong considered countless possibilities, each seeming plausible. Yet, he was torn—should he trust the peacekeeping forces, or should he place his faith in the white man before him, who held definitive information? For the moment, confusion clouded his judgment.

After much deliberation, Xing Xiaolong found himself unable to make a final decision. He could only stall for time, waiting for updates from the peacekeeping rescue team before deciding.

“Mr. Louis, I’m sorry, but I must trust my country first. If possible, please wait one day. I’ll give you my answer tomorrow,” Xing Xiaolong said.

“You... very well, I respect your choice.”

Louis Gabriel Largas’s expression showed clear displeasure; he had obviously hoped Xing Xiaolong would agree at once. However, in the end, he accepted Xing Xiaolong's request.

Just as Louis had previously stated, he could help Xing Xiaolong save lives, and he urgently needed Xing Xiaolong’s assistance as well.

And looking across the entire Red Cross Hospital, the only candidate who met Louis’s criteria was Xing Xiaolong; there was no alternative.

Though Louis appeared outwardly calm, in truth, he was even more anxious than Xing Xiaolong—he simply hid it well.

...

The next day.

After a sleepless night of tossing and turning, Xing Xiaolong limped out of the hospital's tent ward, following directions from a doctor, and arrived at the left side of the Red Cross Hospital’s main entrance.

Here stood the temporary rescue command center. Adjacent to the hospital, its perimeter was lined with barbed wire. Inside, there were numerous tents of varying sizes, many vehicles, and personnel in a variety of uniforms.

Most of them were peacekeeping soldiers, fully armed and moving briskly.

By now, more than a dozen hours had passed since the plane crash. The heavy rain from the previous night had stopped, leaving muddy puddles across the ground.

Aside from the passenger plane’s wreckage, which had yet to be dealt with, the bodies of the victims, their luggage and belongings, the black boxes, and so on, had all been transported back to the command center.

Xing Xiaolong, lacking a special pass, could not enter the command center and had to wait outside.

He waited for over an hour before finally spotting a familiar face—Platoon Leader Wang—emerging hurriedly after a meeting, his expression grave as he boarded a peacekeeping armored vehicle, preparing to head out once more.

Walking ahead of Platoon Leader Wang were two higher-ranking Panda officers.

Xing Xiaolong, having endured an agonizing night, rushed to the gate as soon as he saw Wang, trying to stop the vehicle. The two black government soldiers at the gate, mistaking him for a troublemaking terrorist, immediately cocked their guns with ominous clicks.

Fortunately, Platoon Leader Wang alighted in time to defuse the situation; otherwise, those two government soldiers might well have opened fire.

Everyone knew how unreliable these black soldiers were—barely trained, a gun in their hands, and they became soldiers in name only.

Platoon Leader Wang understood why Xing Xiaolong had come and sympathized with his plight. Yet, as a soldier of the UN Multinational Peacekeeping Forces, he had his own difficulties and could only pull Xing Xiaolong aside to comfort him.

But Xing Xiaolong, burning with anxiety, insisted on pressing for answers.

Perhaps out of soft-heartedness, sympathy, or because Xing Xiaolong was a veteran whose sense of confidentiality far exceeded most, Platoon Leader Wang finally leaned in and, with great caution, whispered one good and one bad piece of news.

He also solemnly warned Xing Xiaolong—under no circumstances could he repeat any of this.

Otherwise, he would face severe disciplinary action.

If a leak compromised subsequent negotiations, both Wang and Xing Xiaolong would be in serious trouble, possibly facing the international court.

At last able to learn what he sought, Xing Xiaolong patted his chest and swore an oath of secrecy.

The good news was that it had been confirmed that the other Chinese expatriate woman—Su Dayu—had not died in the crash.

This allowed Xing Xiaolong to finally breathe a sigh of relief, hope swelling in his heart.

But just as this spark of hope was kindling, a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over him, extinguishing it entirely.

The bad news was...

Including Su Dayu, there were twelve survivors of the crash. Two were seriously injured and in urgent need of medical help, but all had been “rescued” by the local Kaso tribal armed forces and were now being held at an undisclosed location.

The Kaso tribe had set forth a demand: for each survivor, their respective country must pay a “rescue fee” equivalent to one million U.S. dollars in gold before they would be released.

They considered this a reasonable request.

However, the overall commander of the multinational peacekeeping forces, an American Major General named Carlos, who exuded pride and had extensive experience in anti-terror and stability operations, held the opposite view. He saw this as nothing short of terrorism under another name.

As a proud American, he could not accept being threatened by a group of black-skinned tribesmen.

Thus, General Carlos contacted the UN Secretary-General, notified the military leaders of the various peacekeeping contingents, and summoned official embassy representatives from all nations to the rescue command base for an emergency meeting.

The outcome of the meeting was, as expected, that there could be no easy compromise. They would first enter into negotiations with the Kaso tribe.

As for the specifics—how to negotiate, which measures would be most appropriate—these matters were turned over to the embassies and governments of the respective countries for coordination and a unified decision. The peacekeeping forces would no longer take the lead.

Platoon Leader Wang, a hot-blooded soldier, could not bear to see his compatriots in distress.

Yet, precisely because he was a soldier, and obedience to orders is a soldier’s foremost duty, no matter how furious or dissatisfied he was with the result of the meeting, he could only suppress all feelings and follow his superiors’ commands.

Moreover, every peacekeeping soldier abroad had thoroughly studied the UN Peacekeeping Operations Tactical Training Manual, fully aware of their responsibilities and limitations.

Even though the multinational peacekeeping force had the capability to mount a military rescue in the Kaso territory, they were forbidden from making any such move.

Not even the self-important General Carlos had ever considered deploying peacekeeping troops to forcibly rescue the hostages.

The reason for this lay in the “Three Principles of Peacekeeping,” which had been enforced for decades and had become ironclad rules.

The first, the Principle of Neutrality: Peacekeeping operations must not interfere with the rights, demands, or positions of the parties involved and must remain neutral, showing no favoritism to any side in the conflict.

The second, the Principle of Consent: Peacekeeping operations can only proceed with the unanimous consent of all parties involved.

The third, the Principle of Self-Defense: Peacekeepers are allowed to carry only light arms and may use force only if attacked by armed personnel and strictly for self-defense.

The last of these three principles already made clear the combat authority of peacekeeping forces.

Indeed, they could only defend themselves—not open fire proactively.

If they forcibly dispatched peacekeeping troops for a rescue, it would be impossible not to fire their weapons, thereby violating the third principle of self-defense.

Should the peacekeeping troops be the first to upset the balance, the consequences would be dire.

They could simultaneously incur the wrath of the Karhema government forces, anti-government guerrillas, and tribal militias alike. The three warring factions, previously locked in stalemate, might well unite in tacit agreement and turn their guns outward.

At that point, the fate of the peacekeepers venturing into Kaso territory to rescue hostages would be ten times worse than Black Hawk Down.