OOC: They *never* put all of the presidential succession candidates in the same city precisely to avoid this kind of situation. Even in a situation where every politician needs to be in Washington, D.C., such as the State of the Union address, one Cabinet member eligible for the Presidency (referred to as the designated survivor) will always be ordered out to Podunk, Wyoming or somewhere else out of the way in complete secrecy. In this instance, it's really your pick - everyone on the list except the Secretary of the Interior is eligible. The Vice President, Speaker of the House, or President Pro Tempore of the Senate are the most likely candidates since this wasn't a situation in which everyone needed to be in Washington, as well. Also, I'm not sure if we should go with the hilarity of President Biden or the horror of President Boehner.
Also, sadly, Bill Nye is not a member of the U.S. government.
China Sends $1.5 Million in Relief Aid to AustraliaCanberra - Sailors from the Chinese navy have been seen in Canberra, Sydney, and Darwin, but their presence today sparks not fear of invasion, but rather relief. The arrival of the Kunlun Shan and Changbai Shan has been regarded by many as a part of China's "newer and friendlier" face, taking on a role that in older circumstances would have been an American one. As the large amphibious transport docks have offloaded food and supplies, including anti-radiation treatments, to Australian docks and Australian workers, Chinese civilian officials have been seen offering their expertise to the recovery of survivors and construction of refugee facilities as well.
Anti-Americanism on the Rise WorldwideSeoul - Protests outside the USAG Yongsan have reached a fever pitch as anti-American protests here enter their third day. Sparked by the American nuclear attack, these protests have been mirrored in Taipei and Okinawa. Chinese officials have offered no comment on the ongoing situation in these American allies.
Chinese Officials Warn Against North Korean ProvocationsBeijing - Chinese officials today expressed "official regret" at the belligerent statements of their "North Korean brothers", deploring in particular the blame attributed by Pyongyang to South Korea for the unrelated American attack on Australia. This is simply the latest in a growing disenchantment by China with the North Korean government, including multiple incidents in 2013 where North Korean authorities seized Chinese fishing boats and Chinese opposition to North Korean nuclear program. With North Korean economy utterly dependent on trade with China, which encompasses over half of its imports and over 40% of its exports, any action by the Chinese government would likely devastate the fragile North Korean economy, but there has been little sign so far that these statements will result in any concrete action so long as it remains a war of words alone.
1. Send relief to Australia, coordinating and carrying the aid using two Type 071 amphibious transport docks as well as underway replenishment ships.
2. Increase funding for anti-American movements in East and Southeast Asia.
3. Greatly increase funding for both anti-American and pro-unification movements in Taiwan.
4. Continue push for cost-effective thorium-power.
5. Continue research from last turn on anti-ship weaponry.
6. Offer Kazakhstan a deal for investment in oil supplies, attempting to supplant Gazprom. Offer to construct a fuel pipeline eastward to docks on the Pacific coast that would not be held hostage to Russia's good faith.
7. Strongly protest unprovoked American launch. Introduce a motion to the UN insisting on the reduction of nuclear arsenals worldwide, especially those of the largest two - Russia and the United States.
8. <CLASSIFIED> Begin training commandos for surgical strikes using replicas of observed North Korean nuclear and chemical weaponry installations. Any player of North Korea likely means war on the peninsula in the next 2-3 turns, and China gets far more money out of South Korea than the North.
9. <CLASSIFIED> Continue military reformation by extending it to the army - focus on improving Chinese C3I and the hacker arm.