Characters / TNO Southeast Asia

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Indochinese Peninsula

Empire of Vietnam

Official Name: Empire of Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam (Monarchy abolished)

Ruling Party: Mặt trận Quốc dân Đảng Việt Nam - Technocrats^note National Front of Vietnam

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

The Japan-installed Vietnamese client state in former French Indochina. Headed by the deeply unpopular Emperor Bao Dai, the country is slowly falling into revolution as communist Viet Minh rebels have been growing in strength in the countryside.

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• Authority in Name Only: Parts of Vietnam have fallen out of the puppet regime's control and are a hotbed of Viet Minh resistance activities.
• Government in Exile: If the Viet Minh successfully kicks out the Japanese collaborators, the latter will establish a new government-in-exile in Thailand.
• Long Game: With Japan's permission, Vietnam has been allowed to expand their military, in which they must carefully do so slowly to remain in their master's good graces, the optimal outcome in the long term.
• Lost in Translation: After the monarchy is abolished, the country's full English name changes from Empire of Vietnam (Đế quốc Việt Nam) to Republic of Vietnam, though officially Trương Tử Anh uses Việt Nam Dân quốc (in accordance with Phan Bội Châu's dreams) while Ngô Đình Diệm uses Việt Nam Cộng hoà (the same name he used in real life after deposing Bảo Đại) in Vietnamese, a distinction that doesn't exist in English (both the words dân quốc and cộng hoà were originally made up as translations for the French word république).
• Puppet State: While the Empire of Vietnam, which Japan set up after kicking out France, is officially independent, Vietnam has merely switched a European master for an Asian one. Japan continues to dominate the economy, military and internal politics; technically, the French Indochinese state apparatus has still not been officially abolished.
• La Résistance: The infamous Viet Minh lurk in the countryside of not just Vietnam, but all of Indochina. Through their efforts, they have been launching attacks against Vietnam's supply lines and grow stronger with each passing day.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The National Front of Vietnam is plagued with infighting, as factions constantly shift blame for their failures onto another. This division may prove to be their downfall, as the Viet Minh seeks to exploit this weakness.

Bảo Đại

Role: Emperor of Vietnam^note Head of Government (Empire of Vietnam)

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The Emperor of Vietnam is a renowned luxuriant wastrel. Though he was the face of the Vietnamese state at home and abroad, he does not govern. Instead, whenever official duties do not bother him, he retreats to the Imperial Citadel, spending his days in luxurious idleness. Though the people and the political establishment loathe him, he fits the purpose that Japan had laid out for him. Compliant and easily cowed, what little patriotic sentiment that the Emperor of Vietnam has did not matter.

These are the last days of the Empire, and Bao Dai knows it. Prominent nationalists have spoken out against the monarchy, becoming staunch republicans in the face of Bao Dai's sumptuous apathy. The Viet Minh - the less said, the better. The Imperial Citadel was a pebble in the proceedings of fate: to be washed away in the onrush of great change.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Bảo Đại's hedonism and apathy have caused the people and the political establishment to loathe him and call for the monarchy to be abolished. Unsurprisingly, most playthroughs involve the Vietnamese monarchy being abolished.
• The Emperor: Bảo Đại is the powerless emperor of Vietnam, soon to be swept away by the tides of change.
• The Hedonist: Described as a renowned luxuriant wastrel, Bảo Đại spends most of his days in luxurious idleness in his Imperial Citadel.
• Puppet King: Bảo Đại holds no power of his own, acting as a tool for Japan's purposes in Vietnam.

Vũ Ngọc Anh

Role: Head of State

Party: Mặt trận Quốc dân Đảng Việt Nam - Technocrats^note National Front of Vietnam

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A doctor by trade, Prime Minister Vu Ngoc Anh came from a Catholic Mandarin family from the Northern province of Nam Dinh. Renowned for his studies in France, he became involved in smallpox vaccinations across Tonkin. So famous did he become that the government appointed him to the Tonkin House of Representatives between 1930 and 1940, a capacity he served in the General Economic and Financial Council. The watershed moment in his career was his handling of the Northern famine: as one of the principal organizers of aid and relief, he is widely credited with bringing the famine to an end.

The trajectory of his career would change dramatically when Japan made Vietnam independent in 1945. Famed for his methodical, compassionate demeanor, the Tran Trong Kim government appointed him to the position of Minister of Health and Aid, an office where he performed admirably. When Tran Trong Kim resigned in 1952, Tran Van Chuong retained his services and promoted him to be his Deputy Prime Minister. Dr. Vu had never thought he'd rise this far. Yet, in the wake of the failures of Operation Yon-Go, he himself would become Prime Minister.

In other times, Dr. Vu would have made for an excellent Prime Minister. The decades of work in the medical field and experience in the political arena would have given him ample room to maneuver. His methodical and compassionate character would have granted him, if not the love of the people, then their apathy. However, there he is: the janitor to all the failures of the past government. With Diem's personalists on the rise and the National Front abandoning his government, there seems to be nothing stopping the Viet Minh's resurgence. His rule was over before it truly began. The question is: who will succeed him?

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• Short-Lived Leadership: Since Vũ Ngọc Anh only serves as caretaker Prime Minister following the resignation of Trần Văn Chương after the disastrous Operation Yon-Go, his government doesn't last long before he's forced to resign or overthrown. Even the newspaper to the event calls it short-lived.
• You Are in Command Now: Vũ Ngọc Anh was thrust into power unexpectedly after the failure of Operation Yon-Go.

Trương Tử Anh

Role: Head of State (Vũ Ngọc Anh succession)

Party: Mặt trận Quốc dân Đảng Việt Nam - Orthodox^note National Front of Vietnam

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Trưong Tử Anh - Anh Cả Phưong, "eldest brother Phưong," to his acquaintances - has been waiting easily twenty years to reach the position he has reached, and now that he has done so he will hold on to it like a limpet.

Born in Phú Yên province, nationalism was in Anh's blood; his father, the headman of his home village, participated in various nationalist movements such as the Cần Vưong movement. Yet Anh would go further: in university in Hà Nội, he began to formulate an ideology known as survival nationalism. This ideology held that humans were composed of 'basic instincts' such as selfishness, sexuality and society, that these instincts had to be stronger than those of others, and such strength of instincts were brought about by strength, transformation, and integration.

With this ideology, Anh founded the Đại Việt Quốc dân Đảng - the Dai Viet Nationalist Party - in 1939. After the seizure of Vietnam from the French by the Japanese, Anh coalised with elements of the VNQDD under Vũ Hồng Khanh and the Đại Việt Dân Chính Đảng under Nhất Linh to form the modern National Front.

Cooperating with the governments of Trần Trọng Kim and Trần Văn Chưong, Anh built his strength in the north and south of Vietnam, catching the Personalists in the middle. Chưong gave Anh and Nhu more power to prevent the government collapsing, which failed - then, Vũ Ngọc Anh compounded the blunder and integrated both parties into the government to stave off further attack. Obviously, that failed, and Trưong Tử Anh is in control.

With that done, Anh is free to promote his survival nationalism to the Vietnamese people. He will do so without regard to the cost - for no cost is too great to make his nation strong.

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• Politically Incorrect Villain: Trương Tử Anh's personal ideological theory is Survival Nationalism, which is partially inspired by eugenics theory and claims that certain people are stronger than others, thanks to certain natural instincts.
• The Quisling: Trương Tử Anh leads the National Front, one of the largest political organizations in Vietnam that advocates collaboration with Japan.
• The Unfettered: Once in power, Trương Tử Anh will promote his survival nationalism to the Vietnamese people with no regard to the cost or consequences of doing so.

Ngô Đình Diệm

Role: Head of State (Vũ Ngọc Anh succession)

Party: Đảng Cần lao Nhân vị^note Personalist Labor Revolutionary Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}After ten years of being spurned from the Prime Ministership, Ngo Dinh Diem has come roaring back on the heels of one of the worst crises in Vietnam's history. Diem began his career by slowly ascending the ranks of the mandarin bureaucracy. Once the Japanese entered Indochina, Diem was quick to turn against the French, and began establishing connections with the Japanese.

For his role in forming the Association for the Restoration of Great Vietnam, Diem would be forced to seek refuge by the French. However, the Japanese would soon free Vietnam from the clutches of colonialism. That did not mean Diem would automatically become Prime Minister despite his efforts, as Tran Trong Kim was appointed to the position instead.

After a decade of building up his power, and with the aid of his brothers, Diem has now reached the apex of his political career. With the ineffectual government discarded and a state of emergency declared, Diem is free to bring order and justice to Vietnam.

In-Game Biography (Monarchy abolished)^{Click to Show}For ten years, Diem had been spurned the Prime Ministership. Yet now, not only has he come roaring back on the heels of the worst crisis in independent Vietnam's history, but he has also now swept away the puppet of French colonialism. Diem had withstood being forced into exile by the French. Diem had withstood being sidelined in favor of Tran Trong Kim. He had withstood for far too long an ineffectual government leading Vietnam into chaos.

The Social Revolution, espoused by Diem's brother Nhu, shall sweep away the Viet Minh and revitalize Vietnam. Material capitalism, one way or another, shall be swept aside. Order and justice shall soon be restored to a nation long deprived of either. Some may have to suffer in the name of these ideals, but Ngo Dinh Diem had not swept away the previous failure of a government in order to compromise on what was necessary for Vietnam.

After a decade of building up his power, Diem's political career has only just begun. A new democracy, as the state withers, will be established upon the ruins of what was, and now none can stand in the way of the Social Revolution.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Diệm's rise to power parallels his actions in real life, only with him currying favor with Japan rather than the United States.
• Closest Thing We Got: The Japanese are willing to tolerate Diệm's antics, should he assume power, viewing him as the only viable asset they have in the region. Even then, however, it's implied that they're not particularly enthusiastic about supporting him.
• Emergency Authority: Declaring a state of emergency once he takes power, Diệm uses the opportunity to consolidate his power and to enact his agenda of order and justice.
• The Fundamentalist: Under the idea of Oriental Personalism, Ngô Đình Diệm pushes for a social revolution based on Catholic doctrine, with many fearing that he'll begin persecuting those of different religions.
• Long Game: Diệm has spent ten years slowly building up his power so he can attain the role of Prime Minister and ingrain his ideals of Personalism and the Social Revolution into Vietnam.
• Visionary Villain: Ngô Đình Diệm advocates for a Social Revolution to both sweep away material capitalism and the Viet Minh, revitalize Vietnam and restore order and justice.
• Word Salad Philosophy: Diệm advocates for "Oriental Personalism", a strange ideology rooted in Catholic philosophy (specifically, the writings of theologian Emmanuel Mounier) calling for a social revolution that will sweep away the Việt Minh's advocated communist revolution.

Nguyễn Phúc Minh Đức

Role: Head of State (Vũ Ngọc Anh succession)

Party: Viện Cơ mật^note Privy Council

Ideology: Aristocratic Conservatism^note Despotism

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• Blatant Lies: During his coup, Minh Đức orders the military to occupy Thuận Hoá under the guise of keeping order. Almost nobody buys the excuse and all are left wondering what his true motives are.
• But Not Too Foreign: Minh Đức is half-French, a fact used by the Viet Minh to accuse him of being a French infiltrator.
• Dark Horse Victory: Given the Royalists' minimal influence, Minh Đức is the least expected to take over Vietnam after Vu Ngoc Anh's downfall.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Minh Đức is the only son of the late Emperor Hàm Nghi and the main representative of Vietnam's vestigial monarchist cliques.

Nguyễn Khánh

Role: Head of State (Military Coup)

Party: Hội đồng Quân nhân Quốc gia^note National Military Council

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Nguyen Khanh was born to a southern background, and brought up by his de facto stepmother, a famous Vietnamese opera singer. When Japan liberated Vietnam from the clutches of colonialism, Khanh offered himself up to join the embryonic Vietnamese army, and was accepted into its ranks.

Nguyen Khanh rose through the ranks, joining the sole operating airborne unit at the time, and was eventually sent to be educated at Japanese military academies. Throughout it all, Khanh has seen everything there is to see. He witnessed the Thai operation against Laos and Cambodia. He witnessed the operations against the Viet Minh, and their most stunning reversal in 1960.

Now, Nguyen Khanh has managed to seize power against domestic instability, with a state of exception. Khanh's rise to power has been... chaotic. Many in Vietnam now can only hope that Khanh's subsequent administration will bring an end to the chaos and instability.

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• Military Coup: If Operation Yon-go fails against the Viet Minh, Khánh will mobilize a military coup against the government, establishing a National Military Council, with himself as its indefinite head.
• Red Scare: He is motivated by fear of the Viet Minh, whose territorial gains may drive him to launch a coup to take matters in his own hands.

Viet Minh

Official Name: League for the Independence of Vietnam, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Post-Victory)

Ruling Party: Việt Minh

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

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• Determinator: The Viet Minh has been fighting for decades and remains one of the largest and most persistent resistance movements left within the Co-Prosperity Sphere.
• La Résistance: The Viet Minh or National Liberation Front, a rigorously-trained guerrilla army led by Hồ Chí Minh, fight against the pro-Japanese regime in Vietnam and wage a large-scale guerrilla war in the countryside.

Hồ Chí Minh

Role: Head of State

Party: Việt Minh, Communist Party of Vietnam (Viet Minh victory)

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The man called Ho Chí Minh by the world has been known as Nguyen Sinh Cung and Bác Ho - "Uncle Ho" - in addition to something between fifty and two-hundred other pseudonyms. Virtually nothing is known about his life other than that he was born in Central Vietnam in 1890, and that he was trained in Marxist politics in France and Russia. He is, however, known and grudgingly respected by all Vietnamese - even his enemies - as a polyglot and a competent poet, whose poems in the Chu Hán and Chu Quoc Ngu scripts make for easy reading and listening for nearly the whole realm.

Now, on the other hand, they know something more about him than before. After more than two decades of struggle, first against the French, then against the Vichy French, and at last against the Japanese - all the same breed of imperialists, Ho knew quite well - Ho will not go quietly, if at all. Having carved out a free zone in Northern Vietnam, and with agents seemingly seeded throughout the country, Ho has become more than just a leader - he is a enigma and a bogeyman to the Japanese and the Vietnamese government, and a nearly mythical hero to anyone who stands against them.

But Ho Chi Minh grows old, and even as Japan's grip on Asia weakens, Ho senses he may not live long enough to see Vietnam stand proudly as an independent nation. The Vietnamese people know and rally to Uncle Ho - but who will they follow after he is gone?

The leader of the feared Vietcong guerrillas, Hồ Chí Minh knows that Japan's claims of Pan-Asianism are all a ploy, just to keep the Vietnamese under their rule. Minh seeks to restore his country's independence.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Just as he fought a guerrilla campaign against the French and Americans for Vietnam's independence in OTL, Ho Chi Minh has initiated a similar war in this timeline, but rather against the Japanese and their collaborationist government instead.
• Chummy Commies: His guerrillas seek to kick the Japanese out of Vietnam and restore independence for their country.
• Occupiers Out of Our Country: Hồ Chí Minh and his Vietcong seek to secure Vietnam's independence from Japan.
• Rebel Leader: Just like in real life, Hồ Chí Minh leads the Viet Minh in their struggle for independence.
• Short-Lived Leadership: While he had been leading the Viet Minh since World War II, Hồ Chí Minh dies of heart failure soon after becoming the first President of Vietnam.

Trường Chinh

Role: Head of Government (Minh cabinet), Head of State (Hồ Chí Minh succession or Socialist takeover)

Party: Communist Party of Vietnam

Ideology: Mao Zedong Thought^note Communism, Revolutionary Front^note Socialism (Hồ Chí Minh succession or Socialist takeover)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The man who now calls himself Truong Chinh was born as Dang Xuân Khu in the Red River Delta not far from Hà Noi in 1907. After twenty-nine years spent on a life journey that led him first towards socialism and later towards the communism of Ho Chí Minh, he took his current name - "Long March" in Vietnamese - to honor the Long March undertaken by Mao Zedong, who was later to be martyred fighting the Japanese imperialists.

Now Ho Chí Minh is dead, and an at least temporary victory against the Japanese has been assured. His successor is the man who the Vietnamese communists were proud to refer to as the 'excellent student of Bác (Uncle) Ho' - Truong Chinh. His revolutionary credentials are impeccable, and his loyalty to Vietnam and the Communist Party never in doubt: he took pride in his devotion to Ho's ideals even though he did not always agree with them.

With control now fully in Truong's hands, and the loyalty of his party and nation more or less assured, Truong is freed to move forward with a somewhat changed ideological program: the main plans will be predicated upon a land reform inspired by Mao Zedong's writings combined with a Bolshevist interpretation of the anti-colonial movement.

Regardless of his plans, Truong will give his predecessor every reason to be proud of him. This he swears on his honor and loyalty to the Revolution and to Vietnam.

A devoted follower of Minh and fellow socialist freedom fighter, Trường Chinh serves as his second-in-command and a possible successor as leader of the Vietcong. Taking his current name from the famed Long March in honor of the late Mao Zedong, Chinh vows to implement land reform inspired by Mao's own writings combined with his own interpretation of anti-colonialism.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Trường Chinh's reformist policies are based on his real life rule over Vietnam in the 1980s, albeit applied much earlier than OTL due to being made Minh's immediate successor.
• Chummy Commies: Trường Chinh is a renowned revolutionary hero and is just as eager to liberate Vietnam as Minh.
• Internal Reformist: After assuming control, he proceeds to institute pragmatic reforms to ensure Socialism's long-term survival in Vietnam.
• Taking Up the Mantle:
  • His adopted name, which means "Long March" in Vietnamese, was adopted to honor the Long March undertaken by the Chinese martyr, Mao Zedong.
  • Upon Minh's passing after winning Vietnam's independence, Trường Chinh takes leadership of the newly freed nation, determined to carry on his predecessor's legacy by implementing land reforms.

Võ Nguyên Giáp

Role: Military Commander, Interior Minister^note Security Minister (Hồ Chí Minh cabinet), Deputy Prime Minister (Hồ Chí Minh succession or Socialist takeover)

Party: Communist Party of Vietnam

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

The current Interior Minister of the Viet Minh and one of Hồ Chí Minh's most trusted generals. Giap is feared by the Japanese-backed government for his unmatched battlefield genius and transformation of the ragtag rebel militias into an effective fighting force that can go toe-to-toe with whatever army the monarchy throws at them.

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• The Dreaded: For the Japanese-backed regime, he's feared for both his battlefield genius and an uncanny ability to turn ragtag militias into a lethal fighting force.
• Number Two: Giap is considered as one of Hồ Chí Minh's most trusted military commanders.
• Old Soldier: He's been fighting alongside Hồ Chí Minh for decades by the game's start date, having fought the French, Japanese, and monarchist forces over the course of his military career.
• Wrong Line of Work: Subverted. Giáp had no prior military training and originally sought to be a lawyer. Thanks to his tenacity and a life-long fascination with Napoleon Bonaparte and T.E. Lawrence's works, however, he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the most feared men in the Viet Minh.

Kingdom of Laos

^{Flag of the Republic of Laos}

Official Name: Kingdom of Laos, Republic of Laos (Republic), Lao Socialist Republic (Communist coup)

Ruling Party: Ladthaban Kou Abhay^note Kou Abhay Government

Ideology: Provisional Government^note Paternalism

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• Blatant Lies: The Lao government calls the Opium War an "anti-bandit campaign", but nobody buys this narrative, knowing that the RLA is just out to destroy rival cartels in Burma that are threatening their own opium trade.
• Properly Paranoid: The monarchists and conservatives accuse Souphanouvong of being a communist spy, which aren't taken seriously by Japan. These accusations are later vindicated when the Viet Minh liberate Vietnam and he reveals himself as an ICP member.
• Puppet State: Laos is nominally independent, but they are so dependent on Japan for economic and political stability, that they are essentially treated as a puppet to them.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite its small size, Laos is divided along political and regional lines, which the government will need to manage so that the nation isn't torn apart.

Sisavang Vatthana

Role: King Of Laos

Party: Khun Lo

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism

Kou Abhay

Role: Head of State

Party: Ladthaban Kou Abhay^note Kou Abhay Government

Ideology: Provisional Government^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Following the end of legendary Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa's reign as Prime Minister, the controversial Phoumi Nosavan spent all of his political and what little goodwill he had to install Kou Abhay as Prime Minister. A noble-born general whose collaboration with the Thai during Issara was so minor as to be uncontroversial, Nosavan thought him the best compromise between his desire to elevate the RLA and the liberals who wished to continue Phetsarath's legacy.

Despite this, Abhay scraped by with a weak majority, serving only as a caretaker who did not upset or cheer up any faction. From the end of Phetsarath's term in 1959 to the agreed-upon election year of 1962, Abhay has served as an ineffective, inoffensive head of state. Now, with elections looming, Abhay prepares for a long-awaited retirement from political life.

Of Kou Abhay himself, there is little to say. He is the son of a southern noble family, and the father of prominent general Kouprasith Abhay. He is an old man on death's door who has done no more than sign papers and oversee parades. He is a doorway through which Laos enters the next phase of its political history.

The current Prime Minister of Laos since 1959, Kou Abhay is a noble-born general who was picked as Prime Minister by his controversial predecessor Phoumi Nosavan as part of a compromise. Largely considered a caretaker Prime Minister who will be replaced by somebody more assertive or capable in the next election, the elderly Abhay himself wishes to retire from political life and is content with his uneventful place in Laos' history.

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• Contempt Crossfire: Abhay's biggest flaw is that he's too compromising. No one has any strong feelings, positive or negative, towards him, but this has left him with few allies and he's largely seen as a caretaker, until someone more suited to the premiership can take over.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: All Abhay wants is to retire from politics for good, where he gets his wish in the election year of 1962.

Souvanna Phouma

Role: Head of State (1962 or 1967 Election), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (Abhay and 1962 Sananikone cabinet)

Party: Phak Xat Kao Na^note National Progressive Party

Ideology: Liberalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Perhaps it was always Souvanna Phouma's destiny to lead the Laotian people. Brother of the late and legendary Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa, politically connected across all of Laotian society, a diligent servant to the Coalition Government of Free Laos during Operation Issara - this prince has inherited his brother's proud legacy of service to Laos.

Yet Souvanna Phouma presents as an unimpressive man with peculiar ideological beliefs. At times he is stubborn; at other times he folds quickly. He cooperates with the left, but capitulates to the right. He plays with nationalist rhetoric, yet enjoys the full support of the Japanese. He is aware of the political games which occur in the shadows, yet he lacks any kind of guile or cunning to benefit from it.

Phouma is by no means incompetent, but he is perhaps too dull to truly live up to his brother's legacy. Nevertheless, he is in power on the strength of that legacy, charged with continuing that legacy, and he will lead the Laotian nation to the best of his ability. But Phouma knows that daggers dance behind him, waiting for the first sign of weakness to plunge deep into his back.

The Vice Prime Minister of Laos and brother to the popular Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa, Souvanna Phouma is determined to live up to his brother's legacy and make sure that the Laotian nation will survive any future turmoil it will encounter.

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• Enemy Mine:
  • To secure the 1962 election, Phouma can ally himself with the National Union Party, led by Bong Souvannavong. Though his partner opposes his liberal, Japanophilic stance, Phouma hates the conservatives even more and will lap up any support to counter them.
  • Phouma can enter another coalition with Bong and his party because their progressive economic views and conservative social values will compromise and appeal to most.
  • Alternatively, Phouma can start a coalition with Sananikone's party. Despite their opposing political stances, it can be necessary to stabilize the new administration and make them compromise on their most conservative policies.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: To Phouma, there is nothing more important than preserving Laos' survival.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Phouma admires his predecessor and brother, Phetsarath Ratanavongsa, for his ability to mediate the internal conflicts in Laos. With Ratanavongsa's passing, Phouma's determined to live up to his legacy.

Souphanouvong

Role: Head of State (1962 or 1967 Election, Communist revolution), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (1962 Progressive-Patriotic Phouma cabinet)

Party: Neo Lao Hak Xat^note Lao Patriotic Front, Phak Pasaxon Pativat Lao^note Lao People's Revolutionary Party (Communist revolution)

Ideology: Left-Wing Nationalism^note Socialism (façade), National Communism^note Communism (actual)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Brother to Prince Phetsarath Rattanavongsa, father of the modern Laotian nation, Souphanouvong returned from higher education in France with ideas ill-fitting for royalty. He developed in the metropole a distaste for the imperialism that benefitted clients such as his noble line. Upon his return to Laos, Operation Issara saw him follow his brother to Xam Neua, where Souphanouvong was notable within the CGFL for his outreach efforts to resistance movements. He developed a particularly strong rapport with the peasantry, which combined with his left-wing sympathies for him to become known as the Red Prince.

Now Souphanouvong leads Laos, with the people's assent rather than divine right. As its Prime Minister, he has vowed to fight for the peasantry in the fields and the workers in the cities. He calls for expansions to welfare, infrastructure and industrial development - and to support the nation in these endeavours, Souphanouvong is particularly keen on deepening ties with Japan, seeing the Sphere as Laos' greatest chance to develop the nation's industry. The right call him a Bolshevik ICP plant, the left's enthusiasm is tempered by his pan-Asian rhetoric - but no matter the critics, Souphanouvong knows in his heart that he is a patriot, doing what he can for the Laotian nation.

In-Game Biography (Independent Laos) ^{Click to Show}Some would say that a leftist noble is a contradiction, that it is irrational for royal blood to seek an end to monarchy and the establishment of a communist state. Souphanouvong gladly holds the knife, slits the monarchy's throat and uses its blood to water the people's farms and the nation's gardens.

Known for his left-wing sympathies, few knew how deep the Red Prince's sympathies truly ran. Since '49, Souphanouvong has been a secret ally of the Indochinese Communist Party, silently funding and outfitting them with connections in the CGFL. His time in Paris opened his eyes to communism, and foreign occupation of Laos motivated him to put theory into practice. Yet he knew Laos was not ready for a revolution; it was undeveloped, surrounded by reactionaries. So he bided his time and led the NLHX through the post-Issara troubles.

With an ally in Vietnam, the 20th century's greatest Trojan horse opens up. Souphanouvong has declared to the world what he has always held in his heart: that he believes in Marx, Lenin and Bukharin, and will fight to see their vision realised for Laos. Nobody is more shocked than Japan, victim to a years-long con by Souphanouvong, who played pan-Asian sentiment to receive favours, investments and loans he'll never pay back. They might be furious, but Souphanouvong is ecstatic: Laos is free, and by the sweat of its workers it shall remain free.

Half-brother to princes Phetsarath Rattanavongsa and Souvanna Phouma, Souphanouvong is known as "the Red Prince" for his popularity with the peasantry and barely concealed left-wing sympathies. Unpopular with the monarchists and conservatives alike who denounce him as a communist spy, Souphanouvong nonetheless seeks to win the upcoming 1962 election and become Prime Minister.

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• Kill the Creditor: Downplayed. After the Việt Minh liberates Vietnam from Japanese rule, Souphanouvong continues their work in Laos—though Laos is obviously not strong enough to take on Japan without allies, his former overlords in Tokyo are furious at the loans that Souphanouvong took and will never repay.
• Long Game: Knowing that Laos, undeveloped and surrounded by Japanese allies and puppets, is not ready for a revolution, Souphanouvong is willing to bide his time for years, feigning allegiance to pan-Asianism and pretending to see the Sphere as the greatest chance to develop Laos' industry. His bio after he reveals his true colours and joins forces with Vietnam describes him as the 20th century's greatest Trojan horse.
• Mole in Charge: Known for his left-wing views, Prince Souphanouvong has been a secret ally of the Indochinese Communist Party since 1949, something that does not prevent him from running and winning the 1962 election. As Prime Minister of Laos, he outwardly promotes ties with Japan, only to reveal his true colours when the Viet Minh liberates Vietnam, leaving Japan shocked and furious at the loans that he will never pay back.
• Realpolitik: While Souphanouvong is a communist and has no love for Japan, he's willing to keep the monarchy around and remain in the Co-Prosperity Sphere out of simple pragmatism until Vietnam's revolution succeeds, providing communist Laos with an ally.
• Red Baron: Souphanouvong is the Red Prince, the living contradiction of a communist royal, who will gladly hold the knife, slit the monarchy's throat and use its blood to water the people's farms and the nation's gardens.

Phoui Sananikone

Role: Head of State (1962 or 1967 Election, monarchy preserved), Minister of Foreign Affairs^note Foreign Minister (Abhay cabinet)

Party: Phak Seri^note Independent Party

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Phoui Sananikone has spent the last ten years trying to pick up the pieces of the reputation his brother smashed on the ground. Oudone led the collaborators alongside Phoumi Nosavan during Operation Issara, at a time when Phoui hid in the Laotian bureaucracy, and for this crime the Sananikone dynasty was tarnished by betrayal. But now that Phoui has become Prime Minister, perhaps he and his family have truly been redeemed. Perhaps Phoui's just good at making himself look good enough for Laos to accept him.

Born into this northern noble dynasty once known as the Rockefellers of Laos, Phoui's fated life of prominence was thrown into question with his brother's collaboration with the Thai during Issara. Still, he used his family name to secure a high position in the bureaucracy, remaining safely apart of what he thought was a quagmire. On the CGFL's success, Phoui quietly returned to political life as a voice of moral traditionists, the moderate aristocrats and monarchists who did not brazenly collaborate with the Thai.

Now he is Prime Minister, elected on a wave of appeals to careful governance from the land-owning classes and veiled anti-Japanese sentiment from the peasantry. He speaks of building a stronger, moral Laos, but everyone knows of his deep corruption. With his extensive ties in the elite and the military, Phoui Sananikone is not shy about using them for his own gain.

The forebearer of the Sananikone noble dynasty whose reputation was tarnished with his brother’s collaboration with the Thai during Issara, Phoui Sananikone has spent the last ten years desperately trying to rebuild his family’s standing in Laos. Now serving as the voice of the conservatives, moderate aristocrats and monarchists, Sananikone’s corruption has led to him forging ties with the political elite and Laotian military. With a win in the 1962 election, perhaps Sananikone can finally redeem himself and his family in the eyes of the public.

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• Corrupt Politician: Everyone knows of Phoui Sananikone's deep corruption. With his extensive ties in the elite and the military, he is not shy about using them for his own gain.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: His extremely conservative views on expanding the monarchy and reversing liberal policies have made him despised by the center and the left. Even Japan is uneasy about having him as an international partner.

Phoumi Nosavan

Role: Head of State (Royal Army Coup success), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (Nosavan cabinet), Minister of Foreign Affairs^note Foreign Minister (Nosavan cabinet), Minister of Defence^note Security Minister (Abhay and Nosavan cabinet)

Party: Forces Armées du Royaume^note Royal Armed Forces

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Behold the man who couped the Laotian government on three separate occasions: one in support of the Thai, one to oppose them, and one to install himself as the undisputed leader of Laos.

During Operation Issara, he was the primary Laotian collaborator for Thailand. Politically savvy, though strategically lacking, he commanded the bulk of collaborator forces against the CGFL in a series of easy victories and crushing defeats. When the Thai withdrew support in 1951, Nosavan self-funded his war with opium sales and theft from Thai armouries. Only when they truly lost patience with him in 1955 did he turn to the CGFL, aiding in their final victory. He faded into the background, returning to the RLA and building up the only base of support he needed: absolute loyalty from the armed forces.

With the RLA proving itself beyond all expectations in Operation Setthathirath, Nosavan took that ecstatic success and convinced the army that they could show the nay-sayers in the civil government how to run Laos. One more coup, and Nosavan finally has the power he's craved since '49. But now that he has it, he doesn't know what to do with it. He delegates most tasks to yes men only marginally more competent than him, and what tasks he does pursue he can only resolve with brute force.

None of this will last.

Phoumi Nosavan is Laos' current Minister of Defence and two-time attempted coup plotter of the Laotian government during Operation Issara. Formerly commanding the collaborator forces against the CGFL, Nosavan has now built up a loyal support base within the Royal Armed Forces following his return to the RLA. Needless to say, another coup attempt from Nosavan is inevitable- but when it will happen is another question entirely.

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• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Nosavan has attempted two separate coups against the Laotian government in Operation Issara and he can bump his number up to three after the Opium War.
• Fascist, but Inefficient: His coup against the Lao democracy makes him extremely unpopular, with many forming pro-democracy militias to destabilize his regime. Many observers wonder how long Nosavan can last under these conditions.
• Gratuitous French: Nosavan's political party is called the "Forces Armées du Royaume" (Royal Armed Forces) despite the fact that French rule has ended in Laos and French is no longer the administrative language of Laos.
• Military Coup: If the Opium War is won, Nosavan will launch a Royal Army coup. If it succeeds, he gets commended by the ruling king, Sisavang Vatthana, for fighting against "the decadent liberalism of Phetsarath and his successors".
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: If his coup attempt fails, Nosavan will flee the country, never to return.

Amkha Soukhavong

Role: Head of State (Royal Army coup fail), Minister of Defence^note Security Minister (Abhay, and 1962 and 1967 Phoumi cabinet), Minister of Finance^note Economy Minister (Soukhavong cabinet)

Party: Paxa Sangkhom^note People's Society

Ideology: Liberalism, Interim Government^note Despotism (Royal Army coup fail)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The Hero of Xam Neua was never one for politics, despite fighting for political change his whole life. Serving early as a captain in the CGFL and working his way up to general, Soukhavong proved himself a stalwart defender and an admirable commander when he led the defense of the city against Nosavan's collaborators. Xam Neua was where the CGFL's fortunes turned, and a shrewder Soukhavong could have parlayed his success into a comfortable political career. But Soukhavong never cared for the political process, only that it was a system worth fighting for. Once Issara ended, Soukavong returned to the RLA as a dutiful general, keeping himself out of Vientiane's affairs.

Then Nosavan, king of traitors, marched on Vientiane. What else could Soukhavong do but rally loyalists to its defense? The Battle of Xam Neua played out all over again; history repeated itself with Soukhavong routing Nosavan.

He understands why they made him Prime Minister after this, even if he resents it. Though he finds the job outside his skillset, he understands his duty to Laos. If a new PM is to be elected, he must ensure free elections and ensure a smooth transition of power. Amkha Soukhavong has proven himself to be the best man to protect Laotian democracy - even if he hates protecting it behind a desk in Vientiane.

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• Cincinnatus: Soukhavong only intends to be an interim Prime Minister, until free elections can be reestablished and someone more fitting for the job can take over.
• History Repeats: Soukhavong can end up defeating another coup attempt by Nosavan in Xam Neua. His own biography lampshades this fact.
• Humble Hero: After successfully thwarting a coup by Nosavan, Soukhavong could've easily landed himself in a good political career, but he turned this opportunity down to continue being a general, believing that he should stay away from politics.
• Reluctant Ruler: After foiling a second coup attempt, Soukhavong is named Prime Minister to transition Laos back to democracy. He accepts the mission, even though he resents his new job.
• War Hero: Soukhavong earned a lot of repute for defending Xam Neua from one of Nosavan's past coups, which helped turn the tide in favor of the CGFL.

Boun Oum Na Champassak

Role: Head of State (Post-Referendum Royalist cabinet), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (1967 Sananikone cabinet)

Party: Ekalat^note Independent

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Ask any Laotian their thoughts on Operation Issara, and they'll give you a variation on this answer: a time of chaos and bloodshed, but necessary for us to be free. There is only one man who breaks from this conventional wisdom, a man for whom Operation Issara was the only time he was truly free, a man who was king when that title meant something. That man is Boun Oum Na Champassak.

By the terms of the Pakxe Agreement, signed by himself and Phoumi Nosavan, Boun Oum was once King of Champassak, in what is now the southern half of a nation he never wanted. Nosavan's betrayal and the victory of the CGFL destroyed that kingdom and its throne, and despite his valiant attempts to stay in power, Sisavang became king of Laos, with that decadent liberal Phetsarath putting it on a path away from rightful royal governance. Boun Oum was shoved to the side, a voice around which only the most hardline of royalists could rally around.

A series of errors from his opposition has given Boun Oum the opportunity to claw for a consolation prize. Through exploitation of the post-referendum chaos, he is now Prime Minister, with the politically inexperienced Vong Savang above him to use where required. In truth, he would much prefer Vong Savang's title, and for that title to mean something - but Boun Oum still has power, and he will use it to preserve and support the royalist in Laotian politics.

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• Dragon-in-Chief: If Vong Savang is chosen as the new king after the Royal Army coup fails, Boun Oum still isn't any less capable. He's supposed to be Prime Minister and subordinate to Vong, but the political inexperience of the monarch means Boun Oum can easily manipulate him and freely return Laos to a royalist system.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: He used to be King of Champassak, until Operation Issara destroyed much of his power and the throne was handed to Sisavang Vatthana. Meanwhile, Boun Oum was cast aside, only to ever be respected by the royalists, which has left him very bitter.

Somsanith Vongkotrattana

Role: Head of State (Post-Referendum Royalist cabinet), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (Souvannavong cabinet)

Party: Ekalat^note Independent

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Has Prince Somsanith Vongkotrattana ever been his own man? Certainly not in his political career. In Operation Issara, he was responsible for the Laotian secret police, a position forced upon him by the traitor Nosavan before he was mercifully replaced from this unwanted command by Nosavan's crony. At the conclusion of Issara he slinked away into a comfortable position within the civil service, dragged out every now and then to serve in minor posts within previous cabinets. Now, after the failed referendum to abolish the monarchy, new king Boun Oum Na Champassak has stuffed Vongkotrattana into a suit and named him Prime Minister.

He knows what he is: a mere envoy between the King and his people, the rubber-stamp on royalist policies. Boun Oum got his wish, became king again, and put Vongkotrattana in as Prime Minister to further cement his control over Laos. He's a warm body in a chair, a hand to sign papers, and the job needs nothing else - so in the dead of night, when there's nobody around to hear him, Vongkotrattana often asks between soft sobs: why him?

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• Punch-Clock Villain: During Operation Issara, Vongkotrattana was forced to become head of the secret police, a position he never wanted and fortunately didn't remain long in, until he was replaced by one of Nosavan's minions.
• Puppet King: Vongkotrattana has never held real power in his life. He was ordered around by Nosavan during Operation Issara and he serves as a powerless rubber-stamp Prime Minister for King Boun Oum.

Bong Souvannavong

Role: Head of State (Post-Referendum Royalist-National Union cabinet), Vice Prime Minister^note Head of Government (1962 Progressive-National Union Phouma cabinet)

Party: Lao Ruam Samphanh^note Lao National Union Party

Ideology: Buddhist Socialism^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Perhaps one of the most controversial and bizarre Laotian politicians of the 20th century, Bong Souvannavong's peculiar beliefs are buoyed by a shrewd political acumen and a vast web of connections that have seen him rise to the role of Prime Minister.

Souvannavong preaches an eclectic program of traditional social beliefs, monarchism and democracy in harmony, Buddhist moralism and an assortment of vaguely left-wing beliefs on economic equity. All these beliefs come under the umbrella of Dhammic Socialism, Souvannavong's interpretation of Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu's fusion of Buddhist teachings and socialist thought. While many struggle to support or even understand the feasibility of his program - his own son preferred to join the Patriotic Front and their more coherent political ideology - he knows how to court support and play politics to secure power.

The failure of a conservative regime has brought the eccentric reformer into power. Souvannavong knows that he's being watched like a hawk by his political rivals. Nonetheless, he is confident in his own political acumen. At worst, it will be difficult to dislodge him from power. At best, he might even get a few of his reforms passed - perhaps even an isolated, neutral, independent Laos is on the cards.

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• Word Salad Philosophy: Bong Souvannavong is one of the most ideologically incoherent people in Laos—to the point that the unique Buddhist Socialism subideology was created for him. His ideal government is a fusion of monarchism, democracy, conservatism, Buddhist moralism, utopian socialism and anti-communism, holding right-wing social views and left-wing economic views. Despite this, he's still a shrewd politician with enough connections to potentially become Prime Minister.

Kingdom of Kampuchea

^{Flag of the Khmer Republic}

^{Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea}

Official Name: Kingdom of Kampuchea, State of Kampuchea (Lon Nol, Monarchy abolished) Khmer Republic (Khmer Serei coup), People's Republic of Kampuchea (Socialist revolution)

Ruling Party: Sangkum Reastr Niyum - Sihanouk Wing^note Popular Socialist Community

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism

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• Fascist, but Inefficient: Sihanouk's anti-democratic and repressive measures have fueled widespread insurrections across Cambodia, requiring a massive amount of funding to the armed forces to counter the ICP and Khmer Serei rebels. Lon Nol isn't much better either, having to rely on not only the armed forces but request Japanese troops to suppress rebellion.
• Puppet State: After the Japanese invasion of Indochina, they "freed" Kampuchea from their former French overlords, only to establish their own Japanese-aligned government in its place and effectively turning the country into a puppet state.

Norodom Sihanouk

^{Tokyo Plot Thwarted}

Role: Head of State

Party: Sangkum Reastr Niyum - Sihanouk Wing^note Popular Socialist Community

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism, Personalistic Dictatorship^note Despotism (Tokyo Plot thwarted)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Norodom Sihanouk, the old king of Cambodia, has ruled as king since 1941 while Cambodia remained under French colonial rule. He would declare Cambodia's independence under pressure from the Japanese, assuming the position of prime minister while also ruling as king. In 1955, Sihanouk would surprise everyone with his sudden abdication of the throne, ostensibly to avoid the "intrigues" of palace life. As an "ordinary citizen," he would retain the deference he had as king while also being free to enter civilian politics.

A ruthless man, since his abdication Sihanouk has single-handedly dominated Cambodia's fledgling democracy. He achieves this through the Sangkum, his massive organization which is effectively destined to control the entirety of the National Assembly.

Ruthless in his civilian politics, he likewise chokes out dissent, persisting in the form of the rebellious Khmer Serei and the ICP. While both groups actively threaten Sihanouk's nation-building project, demonstrations against his governance likewise grow increasingly common. It's becoming clear that Sihanouk alone can't solve the woes of Cambodia, squished between Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand.

In-Game Biography (Tokyo Plot Thwarted) ^{Click to Show}Norodom Sihanouk is a ruthless man, and since his abdication in 1955 the old king has single-handedly dominated Cambodia's fledgling democracy. He achieves this through the Sangkum, his massive organization which is effectively destined to control the entirety of the National Assembly.

However, while before he was content to merely dominate the system and slowly choke dissent against his rule, it is clear to Sihanouk that enough is enough. After the failed Tokyo Plot against him, led by some of his closest allies in the Sangkum such as In Tam and Lon Nol, the old king has chosen a new path.

He has chosen to consolidate much of the power of the organization within himself, seeing as he is the sole individual able to keep Cambodia stable and safe in the face of the ever-growing threat of rebellion within Cambodia. Whether insurrection springs from the republicans within the Khmer Serei, or from the communist radicals of the ICP, Norodom Sihanouk shall prevail.

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• Clashing Cousins: A prominent political opponent of King Sihanouk is Sisowath Sirik Matak, himself a member of the royal family.
• Cincinnatus: Subverted. He shocked everyone when he stepped down the throne in 1955, claiming that he wants to avoid the "intrigues" of palace life. However, this was actually a strategic move for him to enter civilian politics and become one of Kampuchea's most influential figures, brutally quashing any opposition.
• Et Tu, Brute?: If the Tokyo Plot is foiled, Sihanouk will be left shocked that his close allies, including In Tam and Lon Nol, would betray him. This kicks off his downward spiral into worsening totalitarianism.
• The Purge: After uncovering a conspiracy to remove him from power in the Tokyo Plot, Sihanouk conducts a series of mass purges to eliminate perceived enemies hiding in the shadows.
• The Quisling: King Sihanouk has ruled Cambodia since 1941, submitting to the French, and now the Japanese, to keep his power.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: If the Tokyo Plot fails, Sihanouk resorts to even more autocratic methods because he sees himself as the only person capable of keeping Cambodia safe from internal rebellion.
• Young and in Charge: After King Monivong's passing, Sihanouk was ascended to the throne when he was only ninteteen years old, right before the Japanese conquered Southeast Asia.

Lon Nol

Role: Head of State (Monarchist coup, Tokyo Plot success)

Party: Kangtoap Cheung Kouk^note Royal Cambodian Army

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born the son of a renowned and affluent "peacekeeper," Lon Nol spent much of his youth in comfort despite the instability of his nation. As a young man, the general would eagerly join the military and proved himself competent in the family tradition by faithfully protecting French hegemony over the nation against revolt.

After the Japanese "liberation," Lon Nol took the position of Supreme Commander of the army in support of the monarch, initially confident that Sihanouk had the foresight and competence to maintain the traditional values of the nation. He continued his survival by crushing growing protests from the left, while the monarch's inaction wore down confidence. Sihanouk's mission to japan was the final straw to convince the general that Sihanouk had failed and his own influence would be needed.

Standing as Supreme Commander of both the armed forces and the nation, Lon Nol relies on the Japanese military, and his own massive army, to maintain order in the nation. But as the general's iron grip over the nation grows tighter every day, previously peaceful groups turn to increasingly radical methods of resistance, and former enemies scheme together in the shadows. To survive the chaos, Lon Nol must choke the fledgling sparks of resistance while still young, lest Khmer be consumed by the flames of revolution.

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• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Disatisfied with his reign, Lon Nol will try to betray Sihanouk while he visits Japan. Even if his attempt fails and he loses his influence, Lon Nol still tries again during the Oil Crisis, mobilizing the Tokyo Plot.
• Les Collaborateurs: When the French were still in control of Cambodia, Lon Nol served them in the military, helping them suppress independence movements. Unsurprisingly, he's adopted the same approach with the now-ruling Japanese, becoming Supreme Commander of the army in the process.
• Military Coup:
  • Believing Sihanouk is incompetent and leading the nation astray from its traditional values, Lon Nol organizes the Tokyo Plot to depose him, uniting the Cambodian National Assembly, the Cambodian Army, and the Japanese Envoys behind this shared goal.
  • While Sihanouk visits Japan to request more aid, Lon Nol can take over Cambodia for himself, which goes largely bloodless, but puts the government in a state of limbo between the monarchy and the military.
• Opportunistic Bastard: With protests ongoing in Phnom Penh and the Yasuda Crisis still crippling the economy, Sihanouk pays a visit to Tokyo to ask for more developmental aid. Lon Nol can easily exploit the power vacuum to overthrow him and seize control of Cambodia.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Even if he manages to overthrow Sihanouk, Lon Nol is left with the difficult task of repressing the riots and resistance movements that his predecessor has long struggled with. This can end up causing his downfall if Phnom Penh gets captured by the ICP's Cambodian section.

Tou Samouth

Role: Head of State (Phnom Penh captured)

Party: Konabaks Bracheachon Badevottan Kampuchea - Urban Faction^note Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Before he was a revolutionary, Tou Samouth was a teacher of Pali at a monastery near the Royal Palace. This quiet life as a monk and teacher was thrown into disarray by Operation Issara, when Thai soldiers marched into Cambodia and drove Samouth into the countryside. In his flight from Phnom Penh he found shelter with the Viet Minh, and he repaid their kindness by teaching Khmer recruits Marxist economics and political thought.

As Issara raged, Samouth deepened his commitment to the Indochinese Communist Party, forging links with a fellow Buddhist and socialist: Son Ngoc Minh. The two would later go on to establish a small communist force in Issara's closing years, though even at its strongest it held less relevance than the Khmer Serei. That force would later become known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party.

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, formed by Tou's old comrades in the Viet Minh, opened the door for Kampuchea's salvation. With popular discontent for Lon Nol's junta soaring, Samouth led a popular front against the regime, which captured Phnom Penh and sent the Marshal running. Samouth now stands not only as the leader of the KPRP's moderates, but as helmsman of the new Kampuchean state, and he will follow the red star into a brighter future for all Indochina.

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• Chummy Commies: Samouth is a member of the KBBK, dedicated to overthrowing Lon Nol's junta and install a democratic system in its place.
• Rebel Leader: After being forced into exile by Thai soldiers and taken in by the Viet Minh, Samouth began a Marxist insurgency cell, allied with Sơn Ngọc Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party to liberate Cambodia.

Sơn Ngọc Thành

Role: Head of State (Khmer Serei coup)

Party: Khmer Serei^note Free Khmer

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The Two-Decade Revolutionary marched into Phnom Penh with the largest smile he's ever had on his face. Once, he was the Kingdom of Kampuchea's most hated man, the nationalist and anti-monarchist leader of the fledgling Khmer Serei militia. For years he dodged royal bullets and artillery shells in the forests along the Cambodian border provinces. Now he marches into Phnom Penh, taking Sihanouk's throne and smashing it into a thousand pieces.

Son Ngoc Thanh, Pan-Asian Hero of Liberation, has achieved his greatest dream: the Khmer Republic, on his own terms. Neither Sihanouk's monarchy or Lon Nol's petty authoritarianism can interfere with his vision. Yet liberating the Republic was only part of the struggle. Now Son fights to maintain the Republic against its greatest threat. Communists still lurk in the shadows of Cambodia, their foreign masters pulling their strings and urging them towards destructive dissent. For the continued independence of the Khmer Republic, Son must be strong and unwavering. He must defend the republic against the communization of Cambodia, by any means necessary.

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• Cincinnatus: If he decides to hold elections, Thành will simultaneously promise to step down from power to let whoever wins take his place. However, it can also be subverted if the communists liberate Vietnam, provoking the fervently anti-communist Thành to declare a state of emergency and suspend the democratic process. He publicly claims that this is just a temporary measure until the situation in Cambodia stabilizes, but many cast doubt on this claim.
• Emergency Authority: If the Viet Minh liberates Vietnam, Thành declares a state of emergency in the Khmer Republic in response to what Phnom Penh describes as 'Communist agitation against our free nation'. Elections are suspended and freedom of speech, movement and assembly are curtailed. Thành claims this is only a temporary measure until the stabilisation of Cambodia's political situation, and that the restoration of democracy is on the horizon once the troubles plaguing Cambodia are resolved.
• Full-Circle Revolution: His coup against Lon Nol can end up changing little if he refuses to set up elections. In essence, Thành builds yet another autocratic regime where the people's liberties are trampled on and the armed forces quash dissent, allegedly supported by Thailand.
• Red Baron: Thành, the Two-Decade Revolutionary, leader of the nationalist and anti-monarchist Khmer Serei militia, is the Kingdom of Kampuchea's most hated man.
• Red Scare: Thành is dedicated to defending the Khmer Republic against communism, which he sees as its greatest threat, by any means necessary.

Tropes pertaining to the rework

Role: President^note Head of State

Party: KRPA - 'Thànhist'

Ideology: Left-Wing Corporatism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}In 1949, Prime Minister Son Ngoc Thanh walked into Phnom Penh, smashed King Sihanouk's throne to pieces and declared the foundation of the Republic of Kampuchea. Such an outcome was the inevitable resolution of his many contradictions: a republican serving a king, a Khmer nationalist educated in France, an admirer of Japanese governance in a kingdom built by the French. He had risen to the position of Foreign Minister by Tokyo's assent, harnessed the boundless energy of youthful radicals to secure the Prime Minister's office, and seized on the Issaran chaos to finally break the Throne of Norodom.

The modern-day Sdech Kan governs with both widespread popular support and an iron fist smashing upon dissent. With the state now in his control, Thanh seeks to build up its capability, dragging it out of royal decay and into a bright new future. Yet the compromises demanded by Issara's end gave rise to forces opposed to him. Moderate voices and leftist agitators continue to orbit the politics of Phnom Penh, calling for new rule in Kampuchea.

In time, they will know the depths of his displeasure.

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• Hero-Worshipper: As mentioned in the Kampuchea rework teaser, Thành bases his ideology and governance on Sdech Kan, a brave soldier who once overthrow a cruel king and ushered in a prosperous age with his heroics. In his own story, Thành views himself as Kan and the House of Norodom as the king that he needed to depose. Unfortunately, his own iron fist shows that this was not necessarily for the better.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: A Khmer nationalist and sympathizer to Japanese styles of governance, Thành despised the Kingdom propped up by the French. When he became Prime Minister in 1949 and the country was destabilized by Operation Issara in the Kampuchea rework teaser, Thành toppled the unpopular monarchy and proclaim a nationalist republic.
• Necessarily Evil: Thành recognizes the petty brutality of his Director of National Security, Dap Chhuon, as shown in the Kampuchea rework teaser. However, Thành sees his position as a necessity to maintain order, even if he barely shows up to cabinet meetings.
• Villain with Good Publicity: In the Kampuchea rework teaser, Thành has widespread public support as a modernizer who toppled the unpopular monarchy, even if there is a growing opposition movement who have withstood his attempts to suppress them.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the Kampuchea rework teaser, Thành believes that he's ushering in a better future for Kampuchea, though it means oppressing the many moderate and leftist voices who call out his autocratic actions.

In Tam

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Krom Pracheathibateyy^note Democratic Party

Ideology: Liberal Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}It helps that, in addition to his other merits, In Tam—now President of the fledgling, democratic, Khmer Republic—is a dogged, determined survivor. But In Tam knows better than to rest on his laurels or even congratulate himself. Every trial that has confronted him on the journey to where he is now could have destroyed him; he knows better than to say that he survived it just because he was In Tam.

But The wars, for instance, could have left him a corpse like so many other Khmer. After that, In Tam could have been corrupted; that betrayer Lon Nol could well have destroyed or suborned him before he threw his lot in with Sisowath Sirik Matak and Son Ngoc Thanh. But somehow that was not how that played out. Instead, he was freed to become what others call a 'cornerstone' of the Khmer Serei resistance against the new dictatorship—though In Tam would never dare suggest such a thing.

But Now the Krom Pracheathibateyy, Democratic Party—a revival of the old name and tradition dating back to before the Sangkum—has arrived in power, under his leadership. Democratic ideals will be restored and enshrined in the newly-born Republic of Cambodia. In Tam is not enough of a braggart to tell anyone this (though Son Ngoc Thanh and In Tam's other party cadres might say it for him), but his modesty, incorruptibility, and the love the agrarian populace of Cambodia hold him in will all combine to make that much easier.

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• Good Old Ways: In Tam revives the Krom Pracheathibateyy's name to signify a return to Cambodia's traditions before the Sangkum.
• Humble Hero: He has ambitious democratic ideals, but he doesn't openly advertise this because he's too modest to do so.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Despite all the hardships he's faced and seen Cambodia undergone, he refuses to give up on his optimism and faith in a democratic Cambodia.

Sisowath Sirik Matak

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Konabaksa Satharonarod^note Republican Party

Ideology: National Conservatism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Who would have expected that amid the figureheads of the host of people opposed to the now-toppled Cambodian despotism, one would find a prince of the blood, a great-grandson of King Sisowath? Even President—Prince, too, though he would rather you not call him that—Sisowath Sirik Matak is surprised at the way things have played out sometimes.

After Lon Nol, betraying the Republican movement, declared a coup and proclaimed himself for the monarchy, Sirik Matak declared himself an opponent of his government. Yet even before then Sirik Matak had not tolerated the autocratic, brutish tendencies of his kinsman the King Sihanouk.

As the madness worsened, the Khmer Serei gained allies. Son Ngoc Thanh and In Tam joined efforts with Sirik Matak and the three men planned for a Republic free from the communist threat and with a free market in place of the inefficient corporatist structure set up by Sihanouk and Lon Nol.

When Son Ngoc Thanh resigned, Sirik Matak had not expected to win; however, that is exactly how it played out. The man who had held out under Lon Nol and Norodom Sihanouk when it seemed pointless got his chance after the Konabaksa Satharonarod—the Republican Party—defeated its opponent in an upset victory.

But by all that is sacred, the prince-turned-President swears that he will take this miraculous opportunity and use it well.

---

• Blue Blood: Sirik Matak is the great-grandson of King Sisowath, a figure many were surprised to even find in the first place.
• Clashing Cousins: Sirik Matak, himself a member of the royal family, has long been a political opponent of King Sihanouk.
• Red Scare: Upon being elected, he promises to continue many of Thành's anti-communist measures.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Sirik Matak has stood opposed to the dictatorial regimes of Sihanouk and Lon Nol, joining forces with the Khmer Serei to depose the latter's junta.

"The Setting Sun" Update

Official Name: Republic of Kampuchea

Ruling Party: KRPA - 'Thànhist'

Ideology: Left-Wing Corporatism^note Paternalism

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• The Coup: In the Kampuchea rework teaser, Thành seized power and deposed the king to create the Republic of Kampuchea in a coup.
• Crapsaccharine World: Phnom Penh is a major economic hub in Southeast Asia, drawing significant tourism and business. Much of the city’s architecture was a product of the French colonial era and currently serves as the "Jewel of the Republic" in the Kampuchea rework teaser. However, the city also suffers from widespread gambling and prostitution, facilitating increasingly strong cries to resolve them.
• Divine Right of Kings: Devarāja, or kingliness, is a religious belief legitimizing the monarch as a god-king who deserves to rule. The Kampuchea rework teaser shows that the House of Norodom exploited this belief to rule lazily. This ended up undermining them when Thành took matters in his own hands and overthrew them, who now claims Devarāja for himself.
• Historical Villain Downgrade: Pol Pot, one of Cambodia's most infamous dictators in OTL, is reduced to irrelevance in TNO due to the German victory in this timeline, and makes only a minor appearance in one of the paths Kampuchea can take.
• Magikarp Power: By 1962 in the Kampuchea rework teaser, the Cambodian government is in the process of enacting the first Five-Year Plan to develop the country, spearheaded by Ieu Koeus and Son Sann. The plan seeks a total agricultural reform, land redistribution, and implementation of light mechanized industry in Kampt and Takeo. The plan is ambitious and will depend on a high cost of Japanese funding, management, and technical skills. However, if the plan pays off, Kampuchea will reap great rewards and have model provinces for the rest of the country to follow.
• Patriotic Fervor: The Kampuchean rework teaser shows that Thành relies on chauvinism and ethnonationalism to drum up popular support.
• Puppet State: As explained in a teased national spirit, Kampuchea was formed out of Thailand and is effectively under their whims, after they lost Battambang and Siem Reap from World War II and underwent Operation Issara. Fortunately for them, Thailand is mostly apathetic to Kampuchea's affairs.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Cambodia is a member of the CPS, alongside Thailand and Vietnam, but that doesn't mean Kampuchea's citizens are friendly to them, as shown in the Kampuchea rework teaser. If these tensions ever saw a resurgence or the rights of the Khmer people are not satiated, Southeast Asia may explode into conflict:
  • For Thailand, many leftists have not forgotten the territory taken by Thailand during the Franco-Thai war, demanding their return.
  • For Vietnam, both governments maintain formally cordial relations, especially to keep the Vietnamese minority in Kampuchea content. However, many Khmer citizens want to reclaim their eighteenth-century borders, which means taking Vietnam's control over the Mekong Delta.

Ieu Koeus

Role: Prime Minister of the Republic of Kampuchea^note Head of Government (Thành cabinet)

Ideology: Left-Wing Corporatism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}If Son Ngoc Thanh is the heart, Ieu Koeus is the brain. Already a respected politician and leader in the National Assembly during Sihanouk's reign, successful negotiations during the end of Issara confirmed his reputation as an elder statesman of the new Kampuchean republic. In certain circles, high and learned, Koeus' expertise in governance has earned him esteem higher than that of Thanh himself.

Now in his second term in office, Koeus busies himself with bringing prosperity to his country. Immersed in economic and industrial reports, with credit statements from Japanese and Chinese banks mixed in the pile, Koeus prepares a new five-year economic plan for the Kampuchean nation.

---

• Hypercompetent Sidekick: His teased biography calls him the brainchild behind Thành's regime, a respected National Assembly politician during Sihanouk's reign, and an elder statesman who negotiated the end of Issara. Thus, his reputation soars beyond even that of Thành's in certain circles. By 1962, Koeus is busy working on the Five-Year Plan, alongside Minister of Finance Son Sann, which would be a crowning achievement for himself and Kampuchea.

Achar Sok

Role: Minister of Foreign Affairs^note Foreign Minister (Thành cabinet)

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Before 1947, Achar Sok was a humble monk, teaching the sacred language of Pali at Unnalom. Known for his sensitivity towards the plight of the poor, he saw in Son Ngoc Thanh and his rise to power an opportunity to redress that plight. Sok traded his kasaya for a suit and joined the new KRPA, coming to represent in Thanh's cabinet the 'left wing' of the big tent.

Even as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sok remains concerned with efforts to redistribute wealth towards the poor, with rhetoric that borders on socialist. If Japan is concerned about this, they are certainly tense about his vision for foreign policy, as Sok's eyes drift away from Vietnam and Thailand, towards Indonesia and Azad Hind.

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• Internal Reformist: As mentioned in his teased biography, Sok was a monk who joined the KRPA regime to reform it and adopt a more charitable hand to the poor. His concern borders on being socialist.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: In OTL, he is most remembered for being one of the two founders of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party and mentoring Saloth Sar, who is known more infamously by his later name, Pol Pot. In this timeline, the victory of Japan in World War II led Sok to join the KRPA regime instead, albeit still sympathetic to socialism and ideas of wealth redistribution, as shown in the Kampuchea rework teaser.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Japan is very tense about working with Sok. As shown in the Kampuchea rework teaser, Sok is audacious enough to suggest redistributing wealth to the poor and adopting a more independent foreign policy, akin to Indonesia and Azad Hind, all of which contradicts with Japan's own interests.

Son Sann

Role: Minister of Finance^note Finance Minister (Thành cabinet)

Ideology: Corporatism^note Fascism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}They say it's not surprising that Son Sann knows money-as the son of a wealthy landowner and with a degree from the Hautes Études Commerciales, he was born into wealth and grew to understand it. He distinguished himself as a civil servant in the Issara years, and proved himself a worthy enough bureaucrat to join a new cabinet as Minister of Finance.

But beyond his own financial acumen, he is the link between Kampuchea and Tokyo. This is his greatest strength to Son Ngoc Thanh's government. Were it not for his connections, Kampuchea would not have the capital to afford both the particular needs of the five-year plan and the general reconstruction of the nation following Operation Issara.

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• Hypercompetent Sidekick: His role in the Thành regime is vital. As shown in the Kampuchea rework teaser, Sann is the country's link to Japan, mobilizing the capital needed to fulfill the five-year plan and the country's reconstruction from Operation Issara; without him, Thành couldn't accomplish any of these things.
• Taught by Experience: His teased biography mentions that Sann has grown up around wealth all his life, being the son of a wealthy landowner and earning a degree from the Hautes Études Commerciales. This made him a perfect civil servant in the Issara and bureaucrat in Thành's cabinet.

Dap Chhuon

Role: Director of National Security^note Security Minister (Thành cabinet)

Ideology: Warlordism^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}There are days in Son Ngoc Thanh's cabinet where the seat for the Minister of Defence is empty. Its owner is in Siem Reap, convalescing along the banks of the Tonlé Sap. Perhaps it is best that the seat lies empty, for when it is occupied, death follows.

Dap Chhuon maintains his nom de guerre because no other name fits him. Chuan Kemphet does not, for he left that name in the Franco-Thai War. It was Dap Chhuon who returned, who descended from anti-French rebel leader to petty warlord, ruling atop a charnel throne. In Thanh's eyes, men of such brutality are necessary to maintain order, no matter the infrequency of his presence—or the mountains of corpses his work leaves behind.

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• Absentee Club Member: According to the Kampuchea rework teaser, Chhuon is nominally the Director of National Security, but he rarely attends any cabinet meetings, primarily too busy engaging in warlordism around the Tonlé Sap.
• Insane Admiral: Violence is a first resort for Chhuon, as stated in the Kampuchea rework teaser. Thành can always rely on him to brutally quash all dissent.
• King of Thieves: Though he was an anti-French rebel leader in the Franco-Thai War, Chhuon eventually descended into a petty warlord infamous for his brutality, as mentioned in his teased biography.
• Nom de Guerre: Dap Chhuon is a nom de guerre, he has't used his real name, Chuan Kemphet, since the Franco-Thai War.
• Rebel Leader: His teased biography mentions that he used to be an anti-French rebel leader, when they were still colonizing Southeast Asia.

Republic of Thailand

Official Name: Republic of Thailand

Ruling Party: Khana Ratsadon - Manangkhasila^note People's Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism

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• Crushing the Populace: Having acquired Cambodian and Malaysian territory for their role in World War II, Thailand has tried assimilating the ethnic minorities there, far more radically than even OTL.
• Egopolis: After the Franco-Thai war, a part of the newly annexed territory from Cambodia was reorganized into the 'Phibunsongkhram Province' being named after Plaek Phibunsongkhram when he was still Prime Minister of the Kingdom.
• Fascist, but Inefficient: Thaification programs are actively rejected by many of the minorities living in Thailand, forming insurgencies that destabilize their grip over the southern province and conquered territories.
• The Migration:
  • Countless minorities from Burma flee to Thailand, much to the chagrin of the latter's populace.
  • Similarly, Japanese migrants have also begun settling in Thailand and opening more small businesses than the local Thais, even driving some into bankruptcy.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: Following Phibunsongkhram's coup against the monarchy, Thailand was officially turned into a republic and the ruling party calls itself the "People's Party" in English. However, this supposed democracy is a fraud, with all power concentrated to the Khama Ratsadon and anyone who speaks out against it is suppressed.
• Succession Crisis: The power vacuum left by Plaek's death can worsen if Ananta Samakhom Hall gets bombed by a terrorist attack, delaying the Assembly's attempt to confirm a new President.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • The Thai National Army is wracked with factionalism, specifically between the Soi Ratchakru and Sisao Thawaet factions.
  • The Seri Thai movement is an anti-establishment faction opposed to Phibunsongkhram and the current Khana Ratsadon dictatorship. Beyond this shared enmity, the movement is ideologically split between the pro-royalist Seni and the left-wing Pridi.

Plaek Phibunsongkhram

Role: Head of State

Party: Khana Ratsadon - Manangkhasila^note People's Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born in 1897, the Grand Marshal was given the name "strange" as a young boy - few could predict how prophetic this title would come to be, as he now rules over a Thailand unrecognizable from all those years ago. Decades of grooming the Thai nation to fit his idealized image has led Plaek Phibunsongkhram to this moment - opulent, prosperous, yet woefully out of time.

Plaek sits as the Pater Patriae, at the helm of almost thirty years of brutal modernization and cultural rejuvenation programs. Championing the successes of fascist movements in Europe, Plaek emulated its deeply authoritarian nationalism by taking inspiration from Italy's Duce and Germany's Führer to rival the European empires encircling the underdeveloped nation. If anyone is responsible for dragging Thailand into the modern day, kicking and screaming, it is Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who did so with ideological conviction and martial abandon.

Having involved Thailand in the violent and bloody uprooting of European colonialism across Asia in Japan's nationalist coalition, Phibun's public support grew in zeal. Yet, the passing of the 'Patriarch Charter' - abolishing the monarchy and assuming sovereign power - had prompted others to finally draw out their daggers in the dark. The Grand Marshal's ailing health degenerates; the people ask more questions of the future - will he live long enough for him to answer them?

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• Minor Major Character: Plaek is the chief architect behind Thailand's rapid industrialization and cultural programs, transforming the humble Thai monarchy into an industrialized nation directly inspired by the fascist movements in Italy and Germany. However, Plaek doesn't play much of an active role in the game itself, as he'll pass away shortly after the game's start.
• Playing Both Sides: Underneath his facade of loyalty to Japan, Plaek has been covertly feeding the CIA presence in Thailand, starting a shadow war between Japan and the United States to ensure that neither side has too much influence over his nation.
• Plot-Triggering Death: His death triggers a succession crisis that determines who will lead Thailand and shape the country in their image.
• The Quisling: Plaek secretly despises that he's had to submit Thailand under Japanese military envoys, which is why he's been sending some support to the CIA to weaken the Japanese presence in his country.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Plaek's modernization and cultural rejuvenation programs worked in turning Thailand into a prosperous nation, but they came at a heavy human cost.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Plaek is adored across Thailand for his abolition of the unpopular Thai monarchy and his expulsion of the European imperialists in Southeast Asia.
• Villainous Friendship: Despite their ideological incompatibilities, Plaek had a friendly relationship with Thawan, which could influence the latter's appointment as president.
• War Hero: He's a renowned war hero to Thailand, which contributed to the reason why he managed to become prime minister of Thailand.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Plaek suffers a stroke and dies at around a year and a half after the game's start.

Sang Phathanothai

Role: Minister of Foreign Affairs^note Foreign Minister (Plaek cabinet), Prime Minister^note Head of Government (Plaek cabinet - Wichit passed away), Head of State (Caretaker President, Post-Failed Military Coup)

Party: Khana Ratsadon^note People's Party

Ideology: Managerial State^note Despotism, Interim Government^note Despotism (Caretaker President), National Syndicalism^note Fascism (Confirmed Presidency)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}If anyone was to bet on Marshal Phibun's successor, they would have lost. Sang Phathanothai is no exception.

Sang was born in 1915. Growing up in poverty, people jokingly called him a camel since his idea of lunch was constrained to water and his first encounter with eating utensils was when he arrived in Bangkok. Yet at the same time the 'camel' was also extremely bookish, so much so that he ruined his eyesight and had to scrabble around for money to get glasses.

As he grew, he found himself a teacher known for his revolutionary fervour. When the Government tried to close his school, he led and organised a strike which forced the Khana Ratsadon to suspend the plans. This first strike led by students and teachers in Thai history was a great achievement for a man that had begun life too poor even to take the cheapest train to Bangkok.

Time wore on, and Prime Minister Phibun noticed Sang's talents. Appointing him first a radio show host, then head of the Publicity Department and official spokesperson of the Thai Government, Phibun at last took him into his personal staff as an advisor. Not even Sarit Thanarat's assertion in 1957 that Sang was a communist was able to shake Phibun's trust in him; indeed, after the coup, Sang's next post was foreign minister, followed by the prime ministership after Wichit Wichitwathakarn's death.

Now Sang Phathanothai sits on a throne he never thought a poor, outspoken Samut Prakan kid could attain. He knows who he has to thank for that-so he will continue Phibun's work while implementing his own radical economic policies and his vision for a new revolution where all Thais, rich and poor, unite under a single tri-coloured banner.

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• Bookworm: The young Sang was so obsessed with reading that it ruined his eyesight and forced him to wear glasses.
• Cincinnatus: Subverted. After Plaek's passing, Sang gets nominated as caretaker president and he promises to step down when a new cabinet is assembled. However, he can break this promise after a failed military coup, getting himself confirmed as President to continue the legacy of Plaek.
• Commie Nazis: While still a radical Thai nationalist in the same vein as the rest of the Khana Ratsadon, Sang is also deadset on implementing radical economies policies that will greatly benefit working class Thais.
• Oppose What You Suffered: Having suffered a childhood of poverty, Sang seeks to help uplift Thailand's poor with his vision of a new revolution once he becomes leader.
• Poverty Food: Growing up in absolute poverty, Sang's usual lunch was constrained to water, only discovering eating utensils when he arrived in Bangkok.

Thanom Kittikachorn

Role: Head of State (Military Coup)

Party: Khana Pathivat^note Revolutionary Council

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Thanom Kittikachorn knows war and cruel violence like few others in the halls of power; even fewer can leap with such dexterity to it. Organised, disciplined, and inexcusably fiendish, Thanom commands not only armies in the field, but the personal loyalties of those lurking in the shadows of government where one would least expect it.

The well-educated strategist spent his youth in military academies and institutions until the opening of war against the Europeans in 1940, wherein his service in the Burmese campaigns earned him promotions for his leadership and initiative under extreme pressure. To many, it seems the extreme pressure of the campaigns had built a monster out of a man excelling in the field, who then treated politics like war. Each medal pinned to his uniform were but insignia of his killings; rewards for his ruthlessness.

Thanom's grueling victories during Operation Issara in the East, as well as his rapacious influence in ascent to the inner circles of the Rongrean Nai Roi military clique, had spun him a web of influence, willingly or unwillingly ensnaring those in the general's orbit. Now, after launching a coup against the interim government, these snares have grown intrusive and more barbarous - his forces now run Thailand; he, the Commander-in-Chief of whatever horror he can craft from the mud of the battlefield.

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• General Ripper: Thanom is proud of the many military battles he's ruthlessly led in his career and is easily the most despotic leader who can take power in Thailand.
• Meet the New Boss: If Thanom takes power in Thailand, not much will change from the Plaek administration, as the populace is once more subjected under a fascist government, only with a different leader.
• Military Coup: Shortly after Plaek's death, Thanom can launch a military coup to install himself as dictator of Thailand.
• Undying Loyalty: Wishing to maintain the status quo of Thailand, Thanom wants to maintain Thailand's pledge of loyalty to Japan.

Praphas Charusathien

Role: Head of State (Thanom succession)

Party: Khana Pathivat^note Revolutionary Council

Ideology: Reactionary Nationalism^note Ultranationalism

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• Dragon Ascendant: After Thanom is killed by dissident naval officers at the Battle of the Chao Phraya River, Praphas is named his successor.
• The Purge: The first thing he does as President is conduct a thorough purge in the government of any potential sympathizers to the coup that murdered Thanom.
• Red Scare: During his inauguration speech, Praphas firstly blames communists for murdering his predecessor and threatening to destabilize all of Thailand.

Kris Sivara

Role: Head of State (Thanom ousted)

Party: Khana Rattapraharn^note Coup Group

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A man thrown into the bloody aftermath of Marshal Thanom's hate, and the screaming chaos that has swallowed the nation since, Kris Sivara is a man with the burden of millions of futures on his shoulders. Power rests in his junta's hands, yet as shadows begin to crawl from the corners of his vision, no one is sure of who can be trusted.

In his earlier years, Kris had risen to local prominence serving in the armed forces; his advances into British-controlled Burma had landed him among the same circles as Thanom Kittikachorn, wherein he consolidated relationships with those who would come to form the linchpins of the Sisao Thaweet clique. Thanom, having taken notice of Kris' reputation, kept him neatly within select various commands and, after his coup, government posts to carefully monitor his activity - until it happened.

Thanom's barbarian reprisals of students and civilians in the streets of major cities had pushed Kris and other like-minded officers to act; they had forced the tyrant marshal from power, and severed the head of the brutal regime. Kris now heads a council running the young republic, whose wounds gape and bleed, gashed by the scourge of man. Only time will tell if his house of cards will stand on the shaky foundations so many have bled and wept over, and if dignity will wash up on Thailand's shores ever again.

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• Even Evil Has Standards: While supportive of Plaek's dictatorship, Kris is disturbed by the barbaric suppression instituted by Thanom and Praphas if he leads Thailand, which drives him and his supporters to try couping the Kittikachorn.
• The Starscream: Kris plans to betray and coup Thanom to end his over violence for good.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His attempted coup against Thanom has a chance of failing, which cause Praphas to take power instead, who is even more brutal than Thanom.

Kriangsak Chamanan

Role: Head of State (Sivara resignation)

Party: Phak Chart Prachathipatai^note National Democratic Party

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

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• Cincinnatus: After being handed power by Kris, Kriangsak promises to reestablish free elections as quickly as possible.
• A Lighter Shade of Grey: The government he oversees isn't perfect. Kris still wields a dangerous level of influence in the government and the economy is dominated by the oligarchs. However, it's at least more stable and less oppressive than the past two decades Thailand has been through.
• War Hero: He's a well-respected general who is popular among the Thai people.

Chatichai Choonhavan

^{70s portrait}

Role: Head of State (Military Coup)

Party: Khana Ratsadon^note People's Party, Phak Chart Prachathipatai^note National Democratic Party (Khana Ratsadon Dissolved)

Ideology: Managerial State^note Despotism, Authoritarian Developmentalism^note Paternalism (Khana Ratsadon Dissolved), Personalistic Dictatorship^note Despotism (Temporary Martial Law), Corporatism^note Fascism (Permanent Martial Law)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The only son of Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan, supporter of the Phibunsongkhram regime and face of the old guard, Chatichai Choonhavan has stepped beyond the shoes of his father for some time now. His family name an insignia and rite-of-passage in Bangkok's halls of power, Chatichai has become a face frequented by anyone who is anyone in the young republic.

As war had raged on in Indochina against the French and then the British, Chatichai shadowed his father's efforts to lead the armed forces into battle and take the bloody fight to the imperialist europeans. Bravery under fire and excellent strategic planning, although restrained by the Japanese high command, had earned the Choonhavan name great fame and respect; he and his father's tales were often retold at dinner parties in wealthy establishments.

However, as Operation Issara came to a grinding halt, and all of the republic's daggers were pointed to his father, Chatichai sat outside of the spotlight of Thailand's military affairs. Now that the Grand Marshal is dead, the ranks of soldiers call the Choonhavan name once again. Chatichai is young and inexperienced in the seat of the President, but few cast their doubts over his passion for justice.

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• Emergency Authority: Chatichai can declare martial law as a response to the oil crisis, which will either result in an unparalled centralisation of power to himself if it was temporarily declared or his own Prime Minister sidelining Chatichai if it was permanently declared.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: While despotic, Chatichai is no where near as repressive as the more brutish Thanom.
• Meet the New Boss: Of all of Plaek's potential successors, Chatichai's rule is the most identical to his predecessor's.
• Nepotism: While a skilled military commander in his own right, Chatichai being the son of Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan has certainly helped in elevating his status in the military.
• Pragmatic Villainy: In response to the riots that breakout in Thailand over the oil crisis, Chatichai can make massive widepread reforms that include the dissolution of Khana Ratsadon, the future implementation of a new constitution and the announcement that elections will be held in the future. However, many believe that Chatichai only issued these wide-sweeping changes with such speed so that only he can properly react to them, allowing him to cement his rule over the nation.
• Puppet King: If martial law is declared permanently, Chatichai will be turned into a puppet of his own Prime Minister, Pramarn Adireksarn, who seizes de facto control of his government after making an alliance with the military.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Upon coming to power in a military coup, Chatichai is set to use his web of influences and military prowess to create a productive, authoritarian government.
• Secret Police: Upon taking power, Choonhavan's administration is propped up by a system of secret police who suppress any domestic threats to Thailand's security.

Thawan Thamrongnawasawat

^{Military outfit}

Role: Head of State (Plaek succession)

Party: Khana Ratsadon^note People's Party

Ideology: Transitioning Democracy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Many wonder how absurd it would be for the Grand Marshal to have a friendly relationship with someone so distant from his doctrinal beliefs, but it seems Thawan Thamronnawasawat was just the man to stand firm in such a way to remain in his position. Commander-in-Chief of the tender, yet considerable, Thai Navy, Thawan's aloof stance has been considered by many apolitical; others thought him a dormant mastermind.

Rising in the ranks of Thailand's nascent navy, Thawan has served in the force from a time where the world considered the fleet ceremonial. Now, he presides over what he considers the pride of the nation's standing across the world; the seas offered Thawan a version of Thailand, however, a safe distance from the truth - his homeland was ruled by a tyrant, and no admiral could change the fact.

nAs the army frothed at the mouth with spewings of ideological militarism over the years, or indulged in opportunism to advance an officer's career with violent force, Thawan's navy, disciplined by crashing waves, remained largely unmolested by the stoked divisions that plagued its sister branch. Now, he sits in the seat of the President, keeping the divided army cliques at bay, and bitterly holding together the shattered pieces of the republic's legacy against military rebellion and civil war.

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• Cincinnatus: After taking power in Thailand, Thawan announces new democratic elections to be held, heralding a new age of freedom for the country.
• Internal Reformist: With or without Japanese aid, Thawan plans to massively reform Thailand's infrastructure, military, and even some parts of the government through democratization.
• The Quiet One: Thawan is noted to be a quiet and reserved figure, which belies his very ambitious plans.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Admiral Thawan's coalition of support is but a house of cards, only tacitly supported by military leadership, with it being likely for him to be couped by a different military faction before he is able to democratise Thailand.
• Token Good Teammate: Unlike his peers in the military, Thawan has refused to indulge in any ideological militarism or corruption.

Khuang Aphaiwong

Role: Head of State (1968 Election)

Party: Prachatipat Party^note Democrat Party

Ideology: Big Tent^note Liberal Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born to Siamese royalty in 1902, Khuang Aphaiwong would come to the world when his father was governor of Cambodia, 5 years before Thailand would lose the territory to France. He was a sharp man from a young age, studying first in Bangkok before doing so as well in Lyon. Then at just 30 years old he would go on to take part in the Siamese revolution before his intellect quickly turned him into a minister during the rule of both Phonphayuhasena and Phibun. But his nation's vow to the Japanese and Phibun's repressive regime left him disgusted. Powerless to do anything, Aphaiwong was left with no other options than to disappear from the limelight.

And then Thawan became president, and it seemed as if Aphaiwong's dream of a free and democratic had finally come back after so long. Despite his long self imposed exile from politics, Thawan made him his Minister of the Interior and as soon as elections were scheduled he knew what he had to do. Rallying the noblemen, moderates and even old Seri Thai members of the Prachapitat, Aphinwong provided Seni Pramoj's coalition with the more palatable candidate they needed to win the elections.

The work ahead to ensure a free and democratic republic won't be easy. But even with his old age, Aphaiwong is determined to finally see his dreams for Thailand come true.

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• Defector from Decadence: He took part in the Siamese revolution and used to be a minister, but was disgusted by Thailand's vow to the Japanese and Phibun's repressive regime, causing him to resign and disappear from the spotlight until Thawan potentially restores democracy to Thailand.
• The Determinator: Khuang has dreamed of a free and democratic Thailand for a long time and is determined to see it come into fruition should he become President.
• Royal Blood: Khuang was born into the now deposed Siamese royalty.
• Short-Lived Leadership: If elected, Khuang will only serve for 6 months before passing away, being succeeded by Seni or Lekha from the Democrat Party.

Seni Pramoj

Role: Head of State (Khuang succession)

Party: Prachatipat Party^note Democrat Party

Ideology: Progressive Conservatism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Few could have predicted the return of Seni Pramoj to Thailand's soils, and even fewer could utter the title 'President' before his name without a smirk - yet he sits in the most powerful office in the land, to the surprise of the nation and many abroad. In a bizarre turn of events, it seems that the champion of the late kingdom has returned to make his mark on the seat of power.

Seni Pramoj, part royal in blood, had spent much of his life back and forth throughout western countries, studying and practicing law, until he was sent to the United States as ambassador in 1940 in what is best described as an 'unofficial exile.' As his homeland was consumed by war and generals preying upon the future of the country, Seni began to abandon the duties of his post to organize a resistance against Plaek's government. However, as Hawaii burned in atomic fire, and as the Americans were forced to the negotiating table, the embers of resistance dimmed before dying out completely.

Thawan's coup of the Bangkok government following Plaek's death, however, signaled a change in course for the future of a free Thailand; the Admiral had promised reform, and it concluded in an election none on earth could predict. The exiled democrat now sits in the seat of the president, urging his countrymen to support his government as Thailand wanders towards a new future where she may finally find peace.

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• Arch-Enemy: Seni is the the most prominent opponent to Phibunsongkhram and his regime.
• Dark Horse Victory: As a former member of the disgraced Seri Thai movement, Seni is unlikely to win an election, with many expressing surprise if he actually does.
• Meet the New Boss: Downplayed, after succeeding Khuang, Seni swears to use his power to uphold traditional values and preserve the course set by Khuang.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Seni was unofficially sent on exile from Thailand when he was assigned as an ambassador to the United States in 1940.
• Taking Up the Mantle: After Khuang passes away, Seni can succeed him as president and vows to preserve the course he set for Thailand.
• Took a Level in Idealism: After the Axis victory in World War II, Seni resigned to the military autocracy established in Thailand, but his optimism in reforming the country can be restored if Thawan takes over and sets up democratic elections.

Lekha Aphaiwong

Role: Head of State (Khuang succession)

Party: Prachatipat Party^note Democrat Party

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

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• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: If she succeeds Khuang, Lekha becomes the first female president in Thailand.
• Internal Reformist: As the favoured candidate of the young liberal activists, after succeeding Khuang, Lekha promises to continue and expand on his economic reforms.
• Taking Up the Mantle: After Khuang passes away, Lekha can succeed him and continue the work of her late husband.

Pridi Banomyong

Role: Head of State (1968 Election, National Unity Government)

Party: Sahachip Party^note Unionist Party, Rattabarn Haeng Chart^note National Unity Government (National Unity Government)

Ideology: Democratic Socialism^note Progressivism, Provisional Government^note Paternalism (National Unity Government)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The new president of the Republic of Thailand sits in the most powerful seat in the country, but many still ask if he truly is the most influential man in Bangkok's halls of power. Swept into power with the vast support of the people and political establishment, Pridi Banomyong's election was an event many saw on the horizon, but none could know of its consequences.

Pridi's past relationship with the Khana Ratsudon is a complicated one; once respected as a nationalist who had worked tirelessly to establish a modern constitution as well as cancel unequal treaties with the west, he had fallen into partial disgrace as his rivalries with military wings of the party consumed his position of power. Plaek's rise to the seat of Prime Minister rolled Thailand further towards military dictatorship; Pridi could not stomach a dictator in place of an absolute monarch, and harbored resistance to the totalitarianism of the Grand Marshal's regime, before being shelved to positions of little temporal authority.

Today, the Grand Marshal is no more, living only in the memories scarred into the landscape Pridi has inherited as president of the republic after Thawan's resignation, and yet his progeny crowd the young democracy. Pridi may have outlived Plaek and his thunderous wrath, but he could not outlive the deep marks he has left on Thailand forever.

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• Defector from Decadence: He was once a proud nationalist who was friendly to Khana Ratsudon, but as Plaek began turning Thailand into a military dictatorship, Pridi grew disgusted of the Khana Ratsudon.
• Internal Reformist: If elected after Thawan's resignation, Pridi will commit himself to reform Thailand away from its military dictatorship into a functioning democracy.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Owing to his lack of loyalty to the Khana Ratsudon, Pridi was shuffled around into menial positions in Plaek's government, greatly reducing his ability to oppose the Grand Marshal.

Pramarn Adireksarn

Role: Minister of Interior^note Security Minister (Plaek cabinet), Head of State (1968 or 1972 election)

Party: Phak Chart Thai^note Thai Nation Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism, National Conservatism^note Paternalism (1968 election), Right-Wing Populism^note Paternalism (1972 election)

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• Red Scare: During his election campaign, Pramarn's slogan is "right to kill left", with his victory speech having him vow to protect Thailand from "leftist agitators".

Supha Sirimanon

Role: Head of State (1972 election)

Party: Sahachip Party^note Unionist Party

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

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• Internal Reformist: Supha promises radical economic reforms to cure the ills of Thailand.
• Taking Up the Mantle: As a protege of Pridi, Supha promises to enact economic change resembling that detailed in Pridi's Yellow Book dossier.

Puey Ungphakorn

Role: Head of State (1972 election)

Party: Sahachip Party^note Unionist Party

Ideology: Social Democracy^note Progressivism

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• Character Catchphrase: His famous political slogan is "from womb to tomb", referencing his platform for better social security that will last a lifetime for everyone.
• Suicidal Pacifism: Subverted. His opponents in the right-wing and military frequently accuse him of this, claiming that he's too pacifistic and weak. To prove their claims, they often cite his opposition to the security forces' handling of the Thammasat University raids, which highlights that they're too politically biased to have their accusations taken too seriously and, in either case, it doesn't stop most of the nation celebrating his inauguration.

Kukrit Pramoj

Role: Head of State (1972 election)

Party: Phak Kao Na^note Progressive Party

Ideology: Populist Conservatism^note Conservatism

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• Royal Blood: Kukrit is a scion of the Pramoj noble family.
• Sibling Team: Kurkit ascends to the presidency through the strength of a coalition between his Progressive Party and his brother Seni's Democrat Party.

Thammanoon Thien-ngern

Role: Head of State (1972 election)

Party: Phak Prachakon Thai^note Thai Citizen's Party

Ideology: Fascist Populism^note Fascism

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• President Evil: Thammanoon, a fascist, can get elected into power after liberal democracy returns to Thailand.
• Red Scare: One of the three major pillars that Thammanoon was elected on is "crushing communists".

Chalard Hiransiri

Role: Head of State (Bangkok Conference failure, Black Friday coup)

Party: Khana Thaharn Haeng Chart^note National Military Council

Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalism^note Fascism

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• Meet the New Boss: Chalard's coup represents a return to the old status quo of the days of the Khana Ratsadon, with his military clique being affiliated with many of their old bureaucrats.
• Military Coup: Chalard can potentially seize control of Thailand and put an end to democratic rule, declaring an end to the "mismanagement and instability of previous governments".
• The Purge: Chalard starts his rule by purging the Thai administration of disloyal bureaucrats and officers as he rules with a heavy hand.

Sangad Chaloryu

Role: Head of State (Bangkok Conference failure, Black Friday coup)

Party: Khana Patirup Karn Pokkhrong Phaendin^note National Administrative Reform Council

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism, Stratocracy^note Ultranationalism

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• Military Coup: Sangad can potentially coup the Thai government as a "preventative measure" against "ambitious and disloyal" elements from the civillian and military administration.
• Puppet King: Many suspect that the high-profile members of right-wing think tanks that make up his new cabinet are the true power behind his junta.
• Red Scare: Part of the reason behind his coup is to strike against "leftist agitators threatening our country".

Union of Burma

Official Name: Union of Burma

Ruling Party: Dobama Asi Ayone - Pinma Yezikyaung^note We Burmans Association - Mainstream

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

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• Cincinnatus: Subverted. After suspending the 1953 Constitution, the collaborationist regime promised to restore it once national security was achieved. This vow never came to fruition and the people are becoming increasingly impatient over being kept in the dark.
• Paper Tiger: Aung San's administration proclaims to be revolutionary and the rightful government of Burma, yet they barely control anything beyond six miles of Rangoon.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: Japan's conquest of Burma would prove to be a burden on the puppet government, as communist and minority uprisings continue to plague the country. The people are not impressed by the lack of progress in rooting them out, which could threaten the legitimacy of the entire government.

Aung San

Role: Head of State

Party: Dobama Asi Ayone - Pinma Yezikyaung^note We Burmans Association - Mainstream

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Revolutionary, Socialist, Traitor, Collaborator, Founding Father.

All of these words describe Burma's founding father Aung San, depending on who you ask. Born to middle-class beginnings in 1915 as Htein Lin, Aung San was forged to become one of Burma's many legal functionaries - at least until he became involved with the Burmese revolutionary nationalist movement. From then on, the trajectory of his life changed rapidly, as he quickly became a household name within the Dobama Asiayone, or the "We Burmans Association". Arrested in 1939, fate would strike Aung San's hand when Japanese officer Keiji Suzuki approached him in Rangoon - a relationship which would at least last for another decade.

When India fell in 1943, Burma was finally granted independence - but power was shared between Aung San's revolutionary nationalists in the military and Ba Maw's Sinyetha, but this was not to last. Ba Maw had few allies, and the Japanese recognized this crucial weakness. On a fateful day in 1952, Bo Hmu Aung and Ne Win marched on the Presidential Palace in Rangoon, and forced a plebiscite among the Burmese legislature that nominated Aung San as President.

Aung San finally achieved his dream, but the credits do not roll there. The state is a ramshackle entity as rebels plagued the countryside. The spiritual leaders of Burma reject Aung San's secularism hand-in-hand with their landlord allies. The looming shadow of Japan still holds over Burma, and Aung San has no way out other than his inspiration and close ally Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose - who is more preoccupied with freeing India once and for all.

A great man with great ambitions requires great sacrifice. The question is, how much is too much?

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• Be Careful What You Wish For: He got his dream of becoming Burma's president, but his grand ambitions eventually backfired. As the head of the regime, Aung San became disdained by religious groups for his secularism and rebel groups who continue to resist Japanese occupation. More than a few people wonder if he's capable of weathering such troubles.
• President for Life: He formally serves as interim president, but there are no constitutional limits on his power, especially as the suspension of the 1953 Constitution has yet to be lifted. Aung San himself is desperate to hold on to his power, willing to use extreme prejudice to perceived threats.
• The Quisling: Collaborating with Keiji Suzuki and the Japanese has benefited Aung San greatly, awarding him the presidency over the more disliked Ba Maw.
• The Rival: When Burma was granted its "independence" by Japan, Aung San became a rival to fellow collaborator, Ba Maw. Ultimately, Aung San came out on top when a pressured Burmese legislature was forced to nominate him as interim president.

Ne Win

Role: Prime Minister^note Head of Government (Aung San cabinet)

Party: Bama Amyodha Tatmadaw^note Burmese National Army

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}There is no better way to describe Ne Win other than a smiling tiger hiding in the grass. Even his birthdate is uncertain, only known to his Thirty Comrades. All there is to know about his pre-revolutionary past is that he was born into a Hakka family in Pyay District, and was vocally trained as a doctor. Despite being expelled in 1931, he would then apply the same precision and surgical skill he did in university to his military ambitions, joining U Ba Sein and Thakin Tun Ok's faction within the Dobama Asiayone in 1931.

As the Japanese entered the heartlands of Burma beyond the Thai border in 1942, Ne Win was quickly assigned to create guerrilla networks behind British lines to disrupt them with great success and stunning skill. This experience proved to be invaluable, as Ne Win knew the ins and outs of guerrilla warfare - a skill useful when pitched by Ba Maw against Smith Dun's rebellion following Burma's independence. However, Ne Win started to develop his political ambitions for a Burma which can stand on its own two feet - and thus he and Bo Hmu Aung marched towards Ba Maw's palace on a fateful day in 1952.

Ne Win was quickly appointed as Aung San's deputy, and he became infamous for establishing the Tatmadaw's reputation as a stunningly efficient, but brutal anti-guerrilla force. Four cuts was all it takes - inspired by Japan's actions in Northern China, but the guerrillas' resolve merely rises and rises, and the Tatmadaw is overstretched. Some say it is due to civilian interference that the rebels have not been quashed yet, and like a tiger in the grass, some also say Ne Win is merely waiting for the right moment to strike against those who stand in the way of a great Burma.

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• Ambition Is Evil: Ne Win is very ambitious, having joined Dobama Asi Ayone in 1931 and worked with the Japanese to disrupt British lines, with their being hints given that he seeks to get rid of Aung San to establish his "great Burma".
• Dragon with an Agenda: While he serves as Aung San's Prime Minister, Ne Win has his own plans for Burma that differ from Aung San's vision, prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect his nation.
• Military Coup: In 1952, he and Bo Hmu Aung marched on the Presidential Palace in Rangoon, and forced a plebiscite among the Burmese legislature that nominated Aung San as President.
• Mysterious Past: Little is known about his pre-revolutionary past, with even his birth date being uncertain.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Subverted. Initially, Ne Win established the Tatmadaw's reputation as a stunningly efficient but brutal anti-guerrilla force, however, the Tatmadaw has since become overstretched as the guerrillas' resolve merely rises and rises.

Thakin Nu

Role: Minister of Foreign Affairs^note Foreign Minister (Aung San cabinet)

Party: Dobama Asi Ayone - Totetthaw^note We Burmans Association - Progressive

Ideology: Left-Wing Nationalism^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A lawyer by training, U Nu was born into a respectable family in 1907, before entering the field of law in Rangoon in 1929. In the university, he met Aung San, and an unbreakable bond was formed between the young revolutionaries. From university rectors, to local police, and eventually the British, Aung San and Nu became revolutionaries through thick and thin - at least until the Japanese came.

Despite his reluctance to enter the field of battle, U Nu kept strongly to his Marxist ideals even after the 1954 Constitutional Amendment, whereby communism was banned under threat from Japan. U Nu was sheltered by his connection to the Bogyoke however, but his comrades were not - and neither were his distant brothers in the Communist Party. For now, U Nu's dream of a democratic, just and socialist Burma remains a mere dream - unless drastic actions are taken to change the fate of the nation.

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• The Determinator: Thakin Nu has dreamt of a democratic, just and socialist Burma since he first became a revolutionary, realising that need needs to take drastic actions to change the fate of Burma.
• The Remnant: After the 1954 Constitutional Amendment, whereby communism was banned under threat from Japan, Thakin Nu remains the only prominent socialist in Aung San's government after his comrades that shared his Marxist views in the Dobama Asi Ayone and the Communist party were purged.

Thakin Mya

Role: Minister of Finance^note Economy Minister (Aung San cabinet)

Party: Dobama Asi Ayone - Pinma Yezikyaung^note We Burmans Association - Mainstream

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Aung San's network of revolutionary allies relied on youthful elan and brotherly friendship - and none exemplify those values better than Thakin Mya despite his relative age. Born in 1897 in Pyay District, he was vocationally trained in the sciences, but quickly became involved in the nascent nationalist movement. Despite not being a member of the Dobama Asiayone and being a senior to Aung San, he quickly became a trusted confidant and advisor to the Bogyoke. Despite being not vocationally trained, he gave his best, negotiating the Shonan Agreement of 1945 which saw Burma become formally independent following the end of the Pacific War, and kickstarting Burma's economic development. The future was bright for Burma, but the story does not end there.

17 years after independence, Burma is still stuck in Japan's shadow. Instability still rocks the young nation, and the government does not hold all the areas it claims in practice. Thakin Mya has persevered for many years, but the reality of Burmese independence is the toughest challenge he has faced in 65 years of living, and the 3 decades of being an independence fighter.

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• The Determinator: Thakin Mya has persevered for many years, fighting for three decades as an independence fighter and continuing to fight for a bright future for Burma.

Bo Hmu Aung

Role: Minister of Defense^note Security Minister (Aung San cabinet)

Party: Bama Amyodha Tatmadaw^note Burmese National Army

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born as San Hlaing to a family of farmers, Bo Hmu Aung's life began with an interest in religion. An avid reader, he spent his youth studying and memorizing Buddhist literature. Before he could pass his senior exams as a monk, however, he returned to the countryside and made a living out of farming. The turmoil of the 1300 Revolution would set him on the final path that he would walk: that of a revolutionary.

Bo Hmu Aung became a member of the Thirty Comrades: those who had answered Aung San's call to study military training abroad. Burma's independence in 1943 induced him to return. Nine years later, he and Ne Win would march into the Presidential Palace in Rangoon, forcing a plebiscite that resulted in Aung San's appointment as interim President. Now, he serves as the regime's chief of staff, directing the Tatmadaw's brutal, if efficient anti-guerrilla operations.

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• Bookworm: An avid reader, he spent his youth studying and memorizing Buddhist literature.
• Military Coup: Alongside Ne Win, he marched on the Presidential Palace in Rangoon in 1952 and installed Aung San as Burma's leader, deposing the unpopular Ba Maw.

The Philippines

Second Philippine Republic

^{Post-War Flag}

Official Name: Second Philippine Republic

Ruling Party: Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas^note Association for Service to the New Philippines

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

The Second Philippine Republic is the Japanese-sponsored republic established on the Philippines following World War II. Supposedly a "sovereign" and "democratic" republic, the Japanese client state is heavily dependent on the Japanese 14th Army to maintain stability, and is currently reeling from the fallout of a recent rebel offensive.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Downplayed. While the KALIBAPI-run government is seen by many Filipinos as a glorified puppet of the Japanese, there remains just enough popular support for it to maintain some measure of legitimacy. Depending on who becomes president should it survive the Balintawak Blitz, it could potentially make a concerted effort to mend that image.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: The governors ruling the countryside are nobles in all but name, many of them even belonging to political dynasties that have had a stranglehold over their respective regions for decades. The dire situation in the provinces in contrast to their families' personal wealth all but implie this trope.
• Authority in Name Only: On paper, the Philippines is a stable, independent, democratic member-state of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. In reality, the KALIBAPI-run government only controls Southern Luzon, Palawan and some parts of Visayas, with the 14th Army effectively calling the shots on Tokyo's behalf. The rest of the nation is under the De Facto rule of either the Communists or the FPR. In most cases, it's not a question of whether Manila will fall but who will get there first.
• Back for the Dead: Benigno Ramos, a Japanese collaborator in both OTL and TNO, appears in one event pondering his life before dying of a heart attack.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: A Japanese officer clamors to become part of the Guard Division, given the highest honor of defending the Emperor, but rarely sent overseas to risk his life and fight for Japan. He sacrifices much to achieve his dream, from sending bribes to breaking up with his girlfriend over political differences. However, his plan ends up backfiring when his division is sent to the Philippines to fight the partisans and almost certainly die there.
• Cassandra Truth: It seems pretty unlikely at first for yet another Japanese invasion to happen, with the collaborators' attempts to stop one just coming across as them justifying their atrocities. They are quickly proven right however should they be soundly defeated in the civil war and the United Filipino Front breaks down, with Japan swiftly launching a counter-invasion to bring the Philippines under its fold.
• Civil War: Shortly after the Yasuda Crisis, the AFRSR and FPR will form an alliance to liberate the Philippines from the puppet Second Republic. If the former triumph, the Philippines can fall into a second civil war if the AFRSR and FPR refuse to form a coalition government, fighting each other and a Japanese retaliatory invasion from the 14th Army.
• Dark Horse Victory: Downplayed. While the likelihood of the KALIBAPI surviving the Balintawak Blitz doesn't seem likely at first glance, it is possible for the Second Republic to triumph, both giving the Japanese a stable foothold in the region and potentially opening a path towards actual reform.
• I Did What I Had to Do: The more reformist-minded factions within the KALIBAPI view cooperation with Japan and Co-Prosperity Sphere "membership" not only out of self-preservation, but as a necessary evil. Beyond hopes of greater leverage for ensuring genuine independence, restoring order to the country also means avoiding the prospect of the Japanese launching yet another bloody invasion.
• Les Collaborateurs: The government is ruled by the Japanese collaborator KALIBAPI, which traces its roots to back to WW2.
• Heel Realization: Benigno Ramos, a Filipino collaborator, thinks back on his life as he lays dying on a hospital bed, realizing how wrong it was to betray his country and turn a blind eye to the Japanese atrocities against his fellow countrymen. His last living thoughts are spent berating himself as idiotic for ever throwing his lot in with Japan.
• Home Guard: The Second Republic is reliant on both a vestigial Philippine Constabulary and MAKAPILI auxiliaries as the closest thing it has to a military. All of which answer to the Japanese 14th Army.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: The "republic" of the Philippines is corrupt, ruled by an autocratic presidency, and heavily biased in favor of Japanese collaboration. Any seditious behavior is also a warrant to face arrest.
• Puppet State: The Second Republic is propped up by Japanese bureaucrats and their Filipino collaborators, creating a sham democracy that proclaims their independence, but nonetheless remains tied to the Sphere.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Downplayed. While not insignificant, the Philippines is one relatively small part of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. What happens to KALIBAPI-run government, however, can not only have far-reaching consequences across Southeast Asia, but also stoke greater geopolitical tensions between Japan and the United States.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The reconstruction of the Republic officially ends when four MAKAPILI auxiliaries play a drunken game of Russian roulette, accidentally firing a live bullet that causes several nearby constabularies to also fire and start a barfight. This eventually escalates into a riot, dubbed the Manila incident, sapping most of the Constabulary and 14th Army's manpower. Even worse, if the reconstruction is unsuccessful, the growing chaos requires Inada to intervene and dissolve the National Assembly, installing an unstable regime in its place.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The myriad KALIBAPI factions and political clans struggle to find much common ground, even with the constant shadow of the Imperial Japanese Army behind their back, or the ever-encroaching threat posed by both the AFRSR and Free Philippine Republic.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: The Philippines was one of the many territories acquired by the Sphere following their victory in World War II, but the Second Republic has since struggled to control the countryside, unable to finish off the communist and American partisans still fighting to liberate the archipelago.

José Yulo

Role: Head of State

Party: Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas^note Association for Service to the New Philippines

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Like most of the KALIBAPI's upper echelons, José Yulo Yulo has the peculiar distinction of having served under both the Commonwealth and the Republic. In his case, the bar topnotcher and lawyer by trade practiced a career of guiding Presidents Quezon and Laurel's legislative agendas through court since 1935. Such a distinguished career informed his decision to retire in 1959, after which he planned to resume his old profession as a corporate lawyer.

Said plans, like the rest of the Republic, were thrown awry when President Laurel died and the rebels declared all-out war later that November. Deadlock had consumed the National Assembly while cities fell and battle lines inched closer to Manila. After weeks of contention between the Greater East Asia Ministry and the KALIBAPI's predominant "Laurelist" faction, Yulo became seen as an acceptable compromise - and so he was hastily sworn on Christmas Eve as the Second Republic's second, if temporary, president.

Although the rebels have been stymied since his ascendancy, President Yulo has a long way yet before he can declare "mission accomplished". Vast swaths of the country remain under rebel hands, and those the Republic does control fare little better. But the 14th Army will take care of it in due time; for now, Yulo has preoccupied himself with abolishing the late president's less popular policies until he inevitably steps down.

The current president of the Second Republic, who was picked as the compromise president after his predecessor Jose P. Laurel's death during the 1959 Philippine War. While he successfully managed to push the communist rebels back all those years ago, Yulo now leads a country on the verge of a second rebel offensive and tries his best to keep it all together.

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• Cincinnatus: Yulo only plans on staying president until he can handle the rebels in the Philippines. In the event of victory, however, he winds up being killed before he could properly retire.
• Failure Is the Only Option: If Yulo unites the Philippines under his republic, he won't savor his victory for long, as he'll get assassinated shortly after.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Yulo joined KALIBAPI out of pragmatism and a desire to mitigate Japanese excesses rather than genuine support for the regime.
• Mandatory Unretirement: Having served under both the Commonwealth and the Republic, Yulo hoped to refire from his post in 1959 and become a more modest corporate lawyer. However, the death of President José Laurel and the emergence of the Filipino rebels threw a wrench into Yulo's plans and he was quickly rushed back into becoming a compromise president for the Greater East Asia Ministry and the KALIBAPI's "Laurelist" faction.
• Mood Whiplash: After crushing the partisans in the Blitz, Yulo joins the victory celebration, as he's hailed as the Republic's heroic savior. Then, he suddenly gets assassinated and passes before a hospital can save him.
• Plot-Triggering Death: If the Second Philippine Republic wins the Balintawak Blitz, Yulo will get assassinated, throwing the nation into chaos and forcing Japan to oversee a difficult period of reconstruction to keep the islands stable until a successor can take over.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: In OTL, Yulo was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1943, and eventually had a failed bid for the Filipino presidency after WW2. In TNO, he finds himself becoming president of a country on the verge of chaos.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Should the guerrillas reach the outskirts of Manila, he and his cabinet will be evacuated to Tokyo before the ensuing siege.

Quintín Paredes

Role: Head of State (Successful reconstruction)

Party: Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas - Parliamentary Faction^note Association for Service to the New Philippines

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Caution and initiative are the two backbones of national politics, and balancing both is a game Quintin Paredes has shown himself as an adept time and again. Consider his tenure as Minister of Public Works and Communications, in particular his role in creating President Laurel's ambitious National Development Plans. Despite budget hawks on one hand and grifters on the other, industrialization continued apace with the right people appeased - and with a shoestring budget at that.

Paredes' achievements and political acumen made him a kingmaker within the KALIBAPI, a position he first truly wielded during like-minded President Yulo's appointment. The proverbial king's inadvertent death suddenly cast his reforms' lastingness in doubt, with the likes of the firebrand Recto and despot Osmeña aiming for his seat. Their candidacies dispersed all reservations the former Speaker had harbored.

Several favors and one landslide later, and Quintin Paredes now presides over his predecessor's oathsworn duties. The arduous task of rebuilding, healing and reuniting the country falls to the "industry shogun" and his close advisors. Perhaps an old, capable hand like his will guide the Republic through the night before dawn.

The Minister of Public Works and Communications during President Laurel's time, Quintín Paredes' natural talent at national politics has cemented himself as a kingmaker within the KALIBAPI and he now uses his position to aid President Yulo in his reformist agenda.

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• Beneath the Mask: Behind Paredes' outward and vocal support for Japan is a man only doing so as a means of helping his countrymen stand on their own feet, even if that means using the Sphere's resources to do it.
• Internal Reformist: Upon his election, Paredes vows to liberalize and reform the Republic, ending its despotic administration.
• Landslide Election: If Paredes is elected, his victory is a landslide due to his political acumen and role as a kingmaker in the KALIBAPI.
• Meet the New Boss: Among Yulo's potential successors, Paredes is the doctrinaire Laurelist, being the most likely to continue Jose P. Laurel's ideas at least in sprit.
• The Quiet One: Paredes is a soft-spoken individual, which belies how cunning and ruthless he can be.
• Status Quo Is God: Downplayed. Should Paredes be elected following a KALIBAPI victory, he proceeds to continue the legacy of the Second Republic's first president, Jose P. Laurel, and generally remain a loyal Japanese "ally." On the other hand, he also vows to continue the reforms started by Jose Yulo, though whether he intends to follow through with those promises remains to be seen.

Claro M. Recto

Role: Head of State (Successful reconstruction)

Party: Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas - Parliamentary Faction^note Association for Service to the New Philippines

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Lawyer, poet, and nationalist firebrand - Claro Mayo Recto, Jr. is many things, but most of all he is more alike to José Rizal than his detractors claim. Like Rizal he possesses a keen mind and mastery of logic, which served him well in the courts and the Assembly. Like Rizal he writes eloquently on love of country. And like Rizal he harnessed both tendencies towards opposing the imperialists who had plundered his country. The results speak louder than those who question his sincerity: a free Philippines, aided in no small part by his decades-long tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Therein lies the contradiction beneath the "Great Academician". For a nationalist and former Senate Minority Leader under the Commonwealth - and is that not an indictment in itself? - he seemed far too eager to trade one overlord for another. The man agrees in part. Make no mistake: the Japanese Empire is no different from the Americans they replaced, whether in their seductive rhetoric or in their rapacious, self-serving intent. In his quieter moments Recto wondered if freedom was worth abetting the many, many crimes the 14th Army had committed against his people.

In the end, Recto concluded that nothing else mattered more than his motherland's freedom. No mean is too distasteful for such an end. Hence he shackled himself first to the Quezon government, who promised freedom in ten years; then to the Greater East Asia Ministry, who promised freedom forthwith. He shackled himself a third time to the Laurelist sycophants with the Presidency in sight, and in doing so the Assembly appointed him the Philippines' second most powerful man next to the General of the 14th Army. For the first time in his storied career, Recto the idealist has superseded Recto the pragmatist.

Modernization, centralization, and true independence - beloved Pilipinas will have them all, he swears, lest he had compromised on his principles in vain.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and a nationalist firebrand within the party.

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• Despair Event Horizon: If the reconstruction fails and the 14th Army dissolves the National Assembly, Recto silently tears up in despair, unable to bear seeing his nation humiliated and destroyed once more.
• Hypocrisy Nod: Recto is shown to be keenly aware of how for a committed nationalist, he seem far too eager to trade one colonial overlord for another. He rationalizes to himself, however, that if the end-result means a truly independent Philippines, even collaboration with Japan is worth the heavy price.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Recto considers his collaboration with Japan an acceptable price to pay for the freedom of the Philippines.
• Patriotic Fervor: In his electoral speech, Recto makes an incredibly nationalist speech, vowing to keep the Philippines free of colonial exploitation, no matter the cost.
• Principles Zealot: Recto is an uncompromising nationalist who will stop at nothing to the Philippines free of any colonialism. This could potentially come back to haunt him, however, risking the ire of his Japanese allies.
• Was It Really Worth It?: Privately, Recto wonders if the freedom attained by the Philippines was worth abetting the many crimes committed by the 14th Army against his people.

Sergio Osmeña Jr.

Role: Head of State (Successful reconstruction)

Party: Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas - Parliamentary Faction^note Association for Service to the New Philippines

Ideology: Oligarchy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Sergio Veloso Osmeña, Jr. is a businessman by trade rather than a politician. He speaks a language disdained by the Tagalogs of Manila. His ideas deviate more from KALIBAPI orthodoxy than the most principled reformist's. His family had left for America with President Quezon and never looked back. He has few friends in a city where connections decide how far up a man can get; indeed, his fellow KALIBAPI claim he wouldn't be one if President Laurel weren't so hard-pressed for Cebuano assemblymen. Not for nothing, then, do the Manila press corps call Osmeña the "black sheep of Philippine politics".

Nevertheless, "Serging" is an Osmeña and a businessman before he is a wayward lamb. An Osmeña makes do with what he alone has; a businessman pounces on every opportunity he finds. When the 14th Army sought contractors for its supplies he became that. When assemblymen sought donors for their campaigns he became that too. His machinations eventually earned him an advisor's seat in the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and from there he and his newfound industrialist friends grew inseperable. No jealous rival could prevent him henceforth from becoming the party's chief financier. Soon enough, no one at all could prevent him from becoming President.

Osmeña enters Malacañan buoyed by the alienated, whether it is the businessmen who chafe at the government's overbearing reach, the loyal dissidents unwelcome in the KALIBAPI, or the Bisaya endangered by Tagalog assimilationism. Which voices his administration shall project remain known only to himself. Amid the tumult the new President leaves behind his wake arises only one certainty: the businessman at heart knew business all his life, and he will run the country like one until he no longer can.

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• Dark Horse Victory: Owing to his paradoxical views, cozy business ties with the Japanese and relative isolation within the KALIBAPI, Osmeña is seen by the local press as a black sheep. Which makes his victory all the more shocking.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Despite being one of the most reform-minded and benevolent figures within the government, he's smeared by his erstwhile peers as an ambitious would-be despot, while his public reputation is that of a sleazy corporate collaborator.
• Historical In-Joke: In OTL, Osmeña was a senator who lost to Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 presidential elections, eventually winding up in exile as the latter declared martial law. Here, he finally gets his chance to run the country.
• I Did What I Had to Do: As a businessman and a relative outsider in Manila politics, Osmeña considers his dealings with the Japanese as necessary in order to both help his countrymen and make ends meet.
• Internal Reformist: Osmeña is by far the most reform-minded out of Yulo's successors, as his electoral speech is noticeably absent of any vows to maintain the Republic's Laurelist values.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: In the aftermath of the Balintawak Blitz, Osmeña urges all Filipinos to reconcile with each other so that they may progress as a united nation.

AFRSR

^{Flag of the People's Republic of the Philippines}

^{Flag of the Third Philippine Republic}

Official Name: All-Filipino Revolutionary Socialist Republic, People's Republic of the Philippines (AFRSR Victory), Third Philippine Republic (Post-Marcos Coup)

Ruling Party: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas^note Philippine Communist Party - Popular Frontism

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

A band of socialist guerrillas that control the mountains of northern Luzon. While beaten back in 1959, the increasing weakness of Philippine government and the Japanese 14th Army presents a new opportunity to strike at Manila.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: The AFRSR is very much based on the real HUKBALAHAP insurgency.
• Capital Offensive: Their ultimate goal is to capture Manila and proclaim a republic based on Socialist principles with Manila as its capital.
• Enemy Mine: If the FPR and AFRSR succeed in overthrowing KALIBAPI, they can form the United Filipino Front to both prepare for the inevitable Japanese invasion and set up a coalition government.
• Great Offscreen War: The socialists attempted to topple the Republic in the 1959 Philippine War, but their efforts were halted and a ceasefire was called in 1961.
• Lesser of Two Evils: To the United States, a PRP takeover of the Philippines is not ideal, but preferable to a 14th Army victory, because they will at least deny Japan an important territory in Asia.
• Realpolitik: Despite strong ideological disputes with the Americans and an unwillingness to subordinate themselves to the US, Taruc and his supporters are pragmatic enough to welcome OFN aid, if not direct membership into the OFN proper.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • Originally, the PKP was divided between José Lava and Luis Taruc, after they retreated to the Cordilleras Base Area. Taruc eventually won the power struggle and now prepares the AFRSR for another war against the Republic.
  • The AFRSR begrudgingly works with local landlords to keep the army alive, even if they consider it a temporary arrangement.

Luis Taruc y Mangalus

^{AFRSR Victory}

Role: Head of State

Party: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas^note Philippine Communist Party - United Front Wing, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas^note Philippine Communist Party - Orthodox Wing (AFRSR Victory)

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism, National Communism^note Communism (AFRSR Victory)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Many questions assailed the exiled partymen of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas following the Great Paddy March. What happened to the Offensive? When and where did it go wrong? Above all, who is to blame? Finger-pointing became pointed words, then became ruptures which threatened to sunder the Revolutionary Republic in a tasteless parody of the old Soviet Union's dying days.

In the chaos stepped Luis Taruc, Supremo of the PKP's armed wing the HUKBALAHAP. The firebrand general's word now carried even more weight after the Party's fighting retreat, and he leveraged his magnified standing by launching a scathing critique of their then-General Secretary José Lava. Had Lava not held his men back so many times, he accused, then perhaps the fascists wouldn't have compelled them to cower in the Cordilleras. Lava's dogmatism and caution have cost the Revolution far too much to overlook; perhaps now they should correct course before their chance is lost forever.

With desperate, frenzied applause it was decided: Lava shall go, and Taruc shall take his place. Like caesar and pope in one, "General Alipato" now commands the totality of the revolutionary struggle. Yet some still wonder if an effort so herculean is enough to snatch victory from defeat... or what tenets of the Revolution he will carelessly discard in its pursuit.

The leader of both the PKP and its armed wing, the HUKBALAHAP. Taruc is determined to continue the revolutionary struggle, even if that means discarding some "unecessary" revolutionary dogmas.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: He leads the HUKBALAHAP in an armed struggle against the Filipino government, just like he did in Real Life.
• Chummy Commies: Compared to his predecessor, Jose Lava, Taruc is much more willing to compromise, viewing a dogmatic commitment to Marxism a detriment to the Revolution. Though some of the hardliners in the AFRSR are implied as becoming uneasy with his discarding of old socialist tenets.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: If Taruc decides to take a harder stance against non-socialist elements and attempt to "liquidate" them, this not only destabilizes the AFRSR's hard-won gains. But it also gives Ferdinand Marcos an opportunity to stage an armed coup and seize power by virtue of removing everyone else standing in his way.
• Klingon Promotion: A non-lethal variant. During the chaos of the 1959 retreat, Taruc delivered a scathing "Reason You Suck" Speech to former General Secretary Jose Lava, saying that his caution and dogmatism costed the revolution far too much and that he should be removed before their chance at true socialism is lost forever. Unsurprisingly, it was decided that Taruc shall replace Lava as the General Secretary following some desperate and frenzied applause.
• The Purge: To consolidate power and control following an AFRSR victory, Taruc can opt to liquidate all non-socialist elements that could pose a threat to his new regime. This backfires, however, resulting in his death and Ferdinand Marcos usurping power.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to his predecessor and rivals within the party, Taruc isn't stuck up on dogmatism and can compromise with non-socialist Filipinos in order to genuinely win over the people. He could also opt to not double-down on implementing socialism in favor of compromising with the rest of Filipino society.
• Red Baron: Is called "General Alipato" by his fellow revolutionaries.
• Start My Own: Taruc doesn't take kindly to being snubbed by the United States after the Blitz and will reform the AFRSR into the PRP, as an opposing faction to the Americans.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Taruc resorts to some underhanded tactics to secure his power for the sake of building a socialist utopia for the Filipino workers and peasants.

Ferdinand Edralin Marcos

Role: Head of State (Coup)

Party: Kilusang Bagong Lipunan^note New Society Movement

Ideology: Right-Wing Populism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}What immortalizes men into the annals of history? Their virtues and vices? The sheer weight of their deeds? The reverberations thereof? Or is it something as mundane as chance - being in the right place, with the right deals, at the right time? Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos' experience suggests a pinch of everything... but mostly the last three.

For the Marcoses were the kingpins of Ilocos when Japan struck its blow. Rather than reach out to the southern resistance groups after the Kawit Incident, then-Major Marcos withdrew with his father Mariano to their home province, fending off government forces with a sizable private army. The Marcoses' insulation from Tacloban placed them closer to the AFRSR than most nominally-FPR formations: a fact which the elder Marcos dealt with force of arms. Free to deal as he sees fit after his father's death, "Ferdie" instead found his enemy's enemy in Luis Taruc. So began a bargain that held even after Marcos' compatriots further south died beneath the red onslaught.

Said bargain ended the moment Taruc became king of the Philippines' ashes. With the victory-drunk reds purging the landlords in their closet, Marcos rallied everyone right of the Huks - former FPR, former KALIBAPI, the lone Japanese expat - and struck out of self-preservation. One firefight later, Marcos proclaimed himself President while Taruc's bullet-riddled corpse cooled beneath his feet.\n\nThe thrice-right man has won the musical chairs for a land that has seen more war in ten years than it had in a hundred. Its people tire of games yet their new master does not. What will he do now?

Ferdinand Edralin Marcos is the head of the Marcos family, the most powerful political dynasty outside Manila and lords of the Ilocos region. He and his father have managed to keep the Japanese and Second Republic at bay with their private army. After his father’s death, Marcos struck a deal with the AFRSR and is now willing to contribute to an upcoming rebel offensive.

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• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • Ferdinand Marcos gained infamy for his dictatorial rule in the Philippines, from 1972 to 1986. In TNO, he can seize control over the country under very different circumstances. Coincidentally, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (“New Society Movement”) is also the name of his political movement in OTL, while the Third Philippine Republic's flag is the same one used in the latter years of his real life rule.
  • Marcos' ostensibly neutral foreign policy of playing both the Americans and Japanese to his own ends has echoes of Rodrigo Duterte's similar pretensions during his presidency.
• Beneath Notice: While Marcos is by no means insignificant, he's initially seen by the AFRSR as just another landlord that it has to deal with and tolerate in its struggle against the Japanese. This allows him to emerge as the most powerful man in the country, with Taruc's purges having eliminated or crippled most of his rivals.
• The Coup: Marcos stages an armed coup within months of the AFRSR's victory and Taruc's purging of non-socialists, resulting in the declaration of the Free Philippine Republic.
• Dark Horse Victory: While not insignificant, Marcos only really becomes a major contender should the AFRSR win, and if Taruc opts to purge all non-socialist opposition.
• Enemy Mine: While nominally aligned with the FPR, Marcos and his family’s private army found common cause with the AFRSR against the KALIBAPI. That goes out the window once the AFRSR wins, with Marcos instead aligning with every non-socialist within reach, including KALIBAPI remnants and a lone Japanese expat, to depose Taruc.
• Feudal Overlord: Marcos heads one of the most powerful landlord families outside Manila, with de facto control over the Ilocos region of northern Luzon.
• Red Baron: A future compass teaser has Marcos being referred to as the "Don of the North".
• The Starscream: Despite supporting Taruc in ousting the KALIBAPI, Marcos can seize the opportunity to depose Taruc himself in an armed coup.
• Team Switzerland: Marcos pursues an ostensibly neutral policy regarding the OFN and Co-Prosperity Sphere, being more content to curry favor with both sides to his country's (and his own) benefit. This potentially makes the Third Philippine Republic a regional Wild Card.

Free Philippine Republic

^{Post-War Flag}

Official Name: Free Philippine Republic

Ruling Party: Partido Nacionalista^note Nationalist Party

Ideology: Oligarchy^note Paternalism

An American-backed guerrilla force based in Mindanao, made up of remnant Philippine Commonwealth and WWII-era US forces in the Philippines.

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• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • The Free Philippine Republic is partially based on the Free Philippines government in OTL WWII.
  • In real life, after the end of the war, Japanese soldiers continued to hold out for decades, mostly in isolation in the Philippines. Here, it's the Americans who are stranded and keeping up the fight.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: Downplayed. After two decades of seeming inaction and neglect, the Free Philippine Republic can finally receive support from across the Pacific, from CIA advisors to direct OFN reinforcements.
• Emergency Authority: The FPR's government tries to handwave the underlying feudal oligarchy and corruption as consequences of wartime measures which would eventually be dealt with. While few actually believe it, it's up to the player if the FPR does follow through.
• Enemy Mine: If the FPR and AFRSR succeed in overthrowing KALIBAPI, they can form the United Filipino Front to prepare for the inevitable Japanese invasion.
• Fire-Forged Friends: After decades of fighting the Japanese, the Filipino and American soldiers under Fertig's command have become these.
• Full-Circle Revolution: If the communists and 14th Army are defeated by the FPR, half of the population recognizes that true independence is out of their reach again, as the Americans have practically replaced the Japanese as their new masters and intend to exploit the archipelago for their own gain.
• Government in Exile: The old Commonwealth government is still technically active in America.
• Here We Go Again!: If the FPR wins, not only is the prospect of a Japanese invasion likely, but it could wind up escalating tensions as the US and OFN become directly involved.
• Meet the New Boss: Downplayed. If the FPR takes control, the old Commonwealth government is formally reinstated under OFN oversight, effectively bringing the Philippines under de facto American rule. With the prospect of an imminent Japanese invasion, however, Filipinos are willing to tolerate it, if this means direct OFN support and eventual independence.
• Old Soldier: The American soldiers within the FPR have been fighting the Japanese for 21 years, with some keeping old photographs and dog tags as mementos of a world an ocean away.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: The remnant American colony in the Philippines does not fit the "free" or "republic" moniker in its name. The so-called democracy is more akin to a feudal oligarchy, with the government bartering goods from the local provinces in exchange for guns and protection, even as the peasants languish under this oppression.
• La Résistance: The Free Philippine Republic is home to resistance fighters who have been specially trained by old Filipino and American soldiers to overthrow the Japanese collaborationist regime in Manila.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • García has been forced to make some deals and favors with the local dynasts in exchange for supplies, lest his men starve.
  • There is a sharp divide in the population over whether to return to the old system of American dependence or to forge their own unique path. If the FPR takes over the Philippines, this important question will need to be answered in the election.

Carlos Garcia y Polestico

Role: Head of State

Party: Partido Nacionalista^note Nationalist Party

Ideology: Oligarchy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The Bard from Bohol, or Carlos Polestico García is a rather quiet and serene career politician. Behind this veneer of a poetic virtuoso lies a man of cunning and ruthlessness that has led him to the arduous duty of leading the last vestiges of an ostensibly free Philippines away from both the boots of the Japanese and the hands of the Americans.

Garcia grew up with politics, and would start his journey to the office of the President by climbing from one post to the other; first as congressman, then governor, then senator. Yet his anticipated tenure in the Senate would never come about, with the invasion of the Japanese forcing him underground into guerrilla activities.

As the dust cleared over the Philippines, the hastily abandoned remnants of Commonwealth and American forces scattered down south to stake it out on their own when it became clear that MacArthur would never return. It is here that Garcia's shrewd opportunism would take him all the way to the presidency through payoffs, intrigue, and aggressive politicking.

Now, he stands as the head of a crumbling house with weariness from near-constant war taking its toll, anti-Americanism spreading, and a serious decline in his own effectiveness as president thanks to the corruption and sycophancy that brought him to power. The question now stands: Can Garcia weather the coming storm?

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• Beware the Quiet Ones: Given his quiet demeanor, it's easy to underestimate the fact that he's also a cunning politician who's been playing off the Japanese and the Americans to preserve what little independence the Philippines has left.
• Les Collaborateurs: Garcia had a relatively accelerated career under the American colonial system, advancing through politics as a congressman, a governor, and a senator. His career was only cut short when Japan invaded and forced him underground.
• Corrupt Politician: His administration is built off of corruption and favoritism to local governors who accept his feudal-like bartering.
• Feudal Overlord: Garcia's regime is practically run like a feudal lord; he offers guns, titles, and protection to any local magnates who submit to him, giving him the food produced by the peasants.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Garcia knows that the FPR's corruption and feudal-style oligarchy make a mockery of its pretensions to freedom and democracy. He considers this state of affairs as a temporary and necessary evil, however, in the name of protecting what little sovereignty his country has left.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Should the UFF be accepted or the country be fully unified under the FPR, Garcia quietly accepts that his days are numbered, trusting the Filipino people to choose their own destiny as a free nation.
• Necessarily Evil: Garcia oversees a presidency of corruption and sycophancy, all in service to the greater good of preserving his republic's independence from Japan and the United States.
• Red Baron: Garcia is also known as the Bard from Bohol.

Wendell Fertig

Role: Head of State (Military coup)

Party: Pamhalaan ng Pambansang Pagkakaisa^note Government of National Unity

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}An engineer by trade, a guerrilla by circumstance, and a leader by will; Wendell Fertig has embraced his role as a Man of Destiny, no matter the consequences.

Fertig came to the Philippines as an American military engineer, working to halt the Japanese advance in World War 2 by demolishing bridges. The advance swept past his efforts, and he was trapped behind enemy lines, forced to retreat into the mountains alongside the remnants of his unit and fellow Filipino fighters. Abandoned by his country with the Akagi Accords, Fertig was the first American in the Philippines to renounce his citizenship and declare his intent to fight for a Free Republic with his own signature on the Leyte Proclamation.

And what did he get out of this? Fertig has been stuck in the role of an oft-forgotten advisor, a man of talent wasted in the dusty little corner Carlos P. García shoved him into. Fearing that García's lack of strategic knowledge would render all his sacrifices worthless, he launched a coup to install himself as supreme leader. Now he works to transform the Free Republic into a weapon aimed at the heart of Japanese occupation. He will step down when they are victorious, of course - he is no despot, merely an engineer who seeks to fix a broken system.

But when he is done, they shall all know that it was Wendell Fertig that brought the Philippines into the light of freedom.

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• Cincinnatus: Fertig plans to step down from his position, once the Japanese are expelled from the Philippines and the "light of freedom" is restored to the archipelago. If Magsaysay's countercoup is thwarted, leadership will be passed down to Avelino.
• Defector from Decadence: When the United States surrendered the Phillipines in the Akagi Accords, Fertig renounced his American citizenship and continued resistance to liberate the Philippines under the Free Republic.
• Ignored Expert: García has practically no respect for Fertig, who is often relegated to worthless positions so he can't offer helpful counsel.
• Military Coup: Believing that Garcia will drive the Free Republic to ruin and render every American sacrifice null, Ferig will ally with Avelino and launch a military coup to try overthrowing him.
• Old Soldier: Has been leading the American-affiliated guerrillas fighting the Japanese for 21 years.
• Short-Lived Leadership: Fertig will only take charge until he's either ousted by Magsaysay's countercoup or power is passed on to Avelino. Either way, he's not going to be sitting as leader for long.

José Avelino y Dira

Role: Head of State (Failed countercoup)

Party: Pamhalaan ng Pambansang Pagkakaisa^note Government of National Unity

Ideology: Interim Government^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Following the death of Elpidio Quirino, the Liberal Party was left with no leader. In the chaotic politicking that followed, many promising candidates rose and fell. It wasn't until American exile Wendell Fertig lost his patience and put his fingers on the scale that the party consolidated around a single man: José Avelino y Dira.

Despised as an American puppet by his people and holding little sway among his party, Avelino has no grand ambitions to remake the Philippines. A functionary and former Speaker of the House, he understands that his role is to serve as a bench-warmer, a pleasant and inoffensive leader that with an air of legitimacy. His own liberal, democratic ideals have become secondary to shepherding the nation through this moment of crisis after the deposition of Carlos García—at least that's what he tells himself.

For now, he works hand in hand with the man who made him ruler, Wendell Fertig, and tries to go about his duties in a quiet and efficient manner. He ignores the protests in the streets and the rumors of growing dissatisfaction in the army. He prays that his American handler has the ability to quell all this unrest so that this whole wretched business might have been worth it in the end.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Avelino is hated by nearly everyone in the country as a corrupt, power-hungry politician and even his military allies can barely tolerate him.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: His longtime wish was to become president of the Philippines, which is granted if Fertig's coup is successful and staves off a countercoup by Magsaysay. Unfortunately for him, his newfound position becomes a curse, as he's now become the most hated man in the Philippines and unable to command the respect he thought came with the job.
• Military Coup: Always desiring the presidency for himself, Avelino supports Fertig's military coup so he can topple García and seize the position.
• Short-Lived Leadership: Even if Avelino seizes Manila, he'll have no choice but to accept the creation of the United Filipino Front, giving up his short-lived presidency to set up post-war elections he's not in the running for.
• Voluntary Vassal: With the support of Fertig and the military, Avelino will align the Philippines under the American sphere.

Diosdado Macapagal

Role: Head of State (Post-war election)

Party: Partido Liberal^note Liberal Party

Ideology: Liberal Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Nobody could have expected the rise of Macapagal and the new guard in the Liberal Party. But considering how he started, perhaps they should have seen it as inevitable.

Son of a poet, raised in a home of boarders and a yard of pigs, the Poor Boy from Lubao saw education as his only way out. And with a little financial help from his relatives he excelled, coming out top of his class in elementary, high, and law school. He landed a top job as the assistant to President Quezon, then the collaborationist regime. Of course, the discovery of him being a spy for the resistance necessitated a narrow escape down South, but a man of his talents had no problem fitting in with the FPR. There he remained an unremarkable member of the Liberal Party, until once again an opportunity in Avelino's resignation presented itself. And as always, he grabbed it.

Macapagal brings a new type of freedom to the ones the Filipinos have fought and died for. This is the freedom of opportunity, a freedom without ceilings and fits plowshares as well as swords. No longer a colony, the Philippines welcomes all, will trade with all, let all be able to compete and thrive in this nation. And let its President prove how much an opportunity can mean to those who take it.

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• Dark Horse Victory: Macapagal's rise to the presidency is an unexpected development to many, especially if García retained power and rejected the UFF, giving himself a 70% chance of being elected.
• Hope Bringer: His election represents a turning point in history for Filipinos, one where they can engage in free trade and enjoy more opportunities than they ever could.
• Les Collaborateurs: Subverted. On top of being The Mole within the KALIBAPI, Macapagal is happy to work with the United States. That said, he'd rather do so as an equal ally rather than a glorified colonial puppet.
• The Mole: Macapagal worked inside the Japanese collaborationist regime, until he was discovered as a spy for the resistance and forced to flee south.
• Rags to Riches: He started life in a rural family of pig farmers, which gave him the nickname "the Poor Boy from Lubao". However, his work ethic and financial help from his relatives, he excelled in his education and became a prominent politician in his own right.

Post-Balintawak Blitz

Coalition Government of the Philippines

Official Name: Coalition Government of the Philippines

Ruling Party: Nationalista Party^note Nationalist Party

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

Should either the AFRSR and the FPR defeat the Japanese collaborators and peacefully unite, a coalition government will be formed with beloved politician Lorenzo Martinez Tañada as its president.

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• The Alliance: The Coalition Government can be formed if the AFRSR and FPR achieve victory in their guerrilla war against the Japanese and peacefully unite together in a joint government to fight the upcoming Japanese invasion.
• Bilingual Bonus: The text on their flag is Filipino for "Philippines".
• Closest Thing We Got: While the Coalition Government isn't the most desired outcome for the OFN, it's nonetheless seen as the next best thing, with the Americans still eager to provide aid and support to the liberated Filipinos.
• Democracy Is Flawed: In the interim period of reconstruction, a bicameral Congress is hastily created to oversee the process, but many of its congressmen fiercely debate over domestic matters and even get fistfights with each other, threatening to tear apart the nation, unless the reconstruction is successful. Otherwise, Ramon Magsaysay will stage a coup and assume power in the name of keeping the fragile nation together.
• Enemy Mine: Though the AFRSR and FPR are ideologically opposed to each other, they can unite together to form the Coalition Government out of a shared interest in helping the common Filipino people.
• Here We Go Again!: They have to face yet another Japanese invasion after booting out the collaborators, though with the AFRSR and FPR's forces united and some OFN help it won't be as one-sided as the previous invasion.
• Meet the New Boss: Downplayed. The Coalition Government nominally reinstates the institutions of the pre-War Commonwealth of the Philippines. Only this time, with the Filipinos themselves clearly in charge, albeit with some OFN aid.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The communists and FPR are reluctant to work together and their first meeting starts off tensely with both sides holding on to their guns. Fortunately, they eventually drop their weapons and begin the negotiations to form a coalition government because they have a mutual goal: defend the Philippines from a Japanese counter-invasion and rebuild the nation.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: It's possible for the Coalition Government to fail their reconstruction campaign, leading to a military coup by Magsaysay.

Lorenzo Tañada y Martínez

Role: Head of State

Party: Koalisyon ng Pampamamahala - Kaliwa^note Coalition Government - Left

Ideology: Popular Front^note Progressivism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}No matter how his story will unfold from here on, Lorenzo Martinez Tañada will forever be remembered as the one man who openly defied the Laurel regime and lived. Head of the Civil Liberties Union of the Philippines, the lawyer-activist's crusade for the Filipino's freedoms continued into the Occupation, earning him the Kenpeitai's ire and charges of sedition. To their surprise he successfully appealed his case before the Supreme Court; in a rare act of clemency, and despite considerable pressure from Japan, then-Chief Justice José Yulo personally acquitted Tañada of his charges.

Those who had hoped the experience would cow Tañada into irrelevance would be proven wrong in the 1949 elections, when he would set yet another precedent by winning one of Manila's two assemblyman seats despite owing no allegiance to the KALIBAPI. The Assembly's sole independent then used his seat as a pulpit for speeches decrying the Laurel government, and as a conscience vote for the reformists' occasional good bill. This quid-pro-quo lasted a decade before Tañada alienated his on-and-off allies by denouncing Yulo's "illegitimate inauguration" in 1959. Sensing opportunity, the Kenpeitai drew their knives anew and acted - and if the Joint Anti-Laurelist Offensive had struck any later, then perhaps Tañada today would be sleeping in a cell in Shonan-to, rather than in Malacañan Palace.

As it is, the Coalition found the ideal compromise candidate: principled, universally beloved, but unaffiliated with either half. "Ka Tanoy", for his part, has plans beyond mediating between the militarists and the Communists. He envisions nothing short of a grand revival for the country he loves so dear. The schemes of men seem paltry before such a vision - but if he must walk their tightropes a fourth time to bring it about, then walk again he shall.

---

• Internal Reformist: In the Second Republic, Tañada has stood firm in his mission to liberalize the country, unafraid to criticize Yulo or the Japanese.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: When he sees Magsaysay prepare his coup and gather his men around the Palace, Tañada realizes that he's lost and peacefully steps down from his position, though spiting Magsaysay by refusing to meet him for the transition.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Tañada has always espoused support for Filipino rights since the days of the Japanese occupation and he's fully committed to building a stable democracy for the Philippines.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Tañada is universally beloved across the Philippines, which made him the perfect compromise candidate to lead the Coalition, until official elections can be held. In the upcoming elections, Taruc can subvert this trope for Tañada by stoking dissent towards his perceived incompetence, allowing Taruc to win the majority of votes.
• Vetinari Job Security: Under the Second Republic, his political savviness and audacity had allowed him some measure of influence, despite both the KALIBAPI and Kenpeitai's efforts to apprehend him.

Diosdado Macapagal

Role: Head of State (Successful reconstruction)

Party: Partido Liberal

Ideology: Liberal Conservatism

See his entry in the Free Philippine Republic folder.

Ramón Magsaysay y del Fierro

Role: Head of State (Unsuccessful reconstruction)

Party: Nationalista Party^note Nationalist Party

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Among those who answered the Commonwealth's clarion call was a humble mechanic from Zambales. As fate would have it, the mechanic would come to her aid decades later as a beloved general, against a threat far more insidious than even the 14th Army itself - but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay, Sr. fixed trucks in the Army long before he earned his stars. When Bataan fell, he escaped and formed a guerrilla band in his home province. The newly-minted captain's first campaign lasted until the Akagi Accords; like most resistance groups, Magsaysay began his second after the massacre at Kawit. He ruled Zambales from its hills until the 14th Army proved too much to bear. Faced with either retirement in seclusion or cooperation with José Lava's communists, Magsaysay chose the former. It would last until 1959, when Russell Volckmann, his old superior and friend, convinced him to participate in the Joint Anti-Laurelist Offensive as a fellow general. He found some accommodation with the communists when Taruc took over, who agreed to a desperate truce as he retreated.

The preemptive strike he had planned after the liberation of Manila would be precluded by none other than General Fertig himself - and so the fervent anticommunist watched, unable to act, while communists sabotaged the post-war government the Old Man had given them. As they too proved too much to bear, so too did he and his men retire a second time. Chaos reigned thereafter; disgraced, Tañada offered Magsaysay the country to save it.

Now "Monching" sits atop the short-lived Coalition's corpse, inheriting from it a war-torn land blooming with the red cancer. It won't be long, he swears, before it is excised in full - and from there shall arise a nation reborn, a people enriched, and a land forever unsullied by false prophets' taint.

---

• Foil: He is this to Takayama Shinobu. While the 14th Army assuming control precludes more death and suffering for the Filipinos, Magsaysay's takeover is done with the express purpose of avoiding such a harrowing outcome.
• Military Coup: If the reconstruction fails, Magsaysay will launch a coup against Tañada and unofficially become its new dictator.
• Rags to Riches: Maysaysay was initially a humble mechanic from Zambales before rising to become a beloved general fighting for the Philippines' liberation.
• Rebel Leader: Magsaysay is a Filipino soldier who has been fighting against the Japanese colonial government in his home country and can be appointed as its leader if both the AFRSR and FPR win and unite together. Once in power, one of his first challenges is to ward off the Japanese counterinvasion by the Firipin Gunseibu.
• Red Scare: Magsaysay's biggest concern upon seizing power is eliminating the remaining communists in the Philippines.
• Serendipitous Survival: Unlike OTL, wherein Magsaysay died in 1957 from a plane crash, he's still very much alive by 1962, and can potentially become president.
• 10-Minute Retirement: Magsaysay initially retired from the resistance rather than cooperate with the communists in the Philippines. However, his retirement was cut short when his old friend and superior, Russell Volckmann, convinced him to rejoin in uprising against the Laurelist administration.

Firipin Gunseibu

Official Name: Firipin Gunseibu^note Military Governorate of the Philippines, Firipin Shotō Rinji Seifu^note Provisional Government of the Philippines (14th Army victory)

Ruling Party: 14th Army's Provisional Government

Ideology: Stratocracy^note Ultranationalism

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• Alas, Poor Villain: The 14th Army commits horrific war crimes during their invasion and are the most evil faction in the archipelago. However, there is a degree of pity surrounding their defeat, as the once vigorous survivors are left traumatized and sullen that they've not only failed a second time, but also seen more of their comrades slaughtered for a lost cause. As they retreat back to Japan, the soldiers bid one final, solemn farewell, as the transport ships are loaded with coffins of their dead comrades.
  No heroic deaths await us.
• Bilingual Bonus: The Firipin Gunseibu's kanji on their flag translates to "14th Army", the military organization in charge of the provisional state.
• Downer Ending: A 14th Army victory is the worst possible outcome that the Philippines can be subjected to, as they are once again dragged back into Japan's sphere of control and brutalized under a military regime far more violent than the Second Republic.
• Easy Logistics: Subverted. The 14th Army suffers a weekly debuff of losing supplies, which will make their conquest of the Philippines harder as time passes.
• Establishing Character Moment: The revitalized 14th Army are introduced launching a barrage at Lingayen Bay and murdering hundreds of civilians, showing how serious they are with avenging their past defeat and the levels of brutality they will descend to achieve their goals.
• Even Evil Has Standards: If the 14th Army reconquers the Philippines, a Japanese soldier recalls his company coming across a 12 year old boy, wielding a rifle and desperately trying to fight off the invaders. It's the first time that the company is taken aback, unwilling to kill a child, and even their CO takes the "burden" for once by shooting the boy for them.
• Evil Colonialist: The Firipin Gunseibu is a retaliatory Japanese invasion of the Philippines if the natives and/or Americans defeat the Second Philippine Republic, sent to bring the archipelago back into Japanese control.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • If the 14th Army is defeated for a second time, Japan declares the Philippines a lost cause and orders a difficult retreat, with hundreds of caskets being sent back to the Home Isles and the survivors despondent over their failure.
  • The 14th Army can call for a ceasefire where they they retain control of Luzon and/or Visayas, dividing the Philippines in two.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The 14th Army suffered thousands of casualties when they were forced to flee the Philippines after the Republic fell. Upon returning with Takayama at the command, the 14th Army survivors are eager to exact vengeance on the rebels. Even thousands of reserve troops were eager to sign up with the 14th Army so that they can restore Japan's dignity after the Republic fell.
• Took a Level in Badass: Having failed to defend the Republic in the Balintawak Blitz, the 14th Army will return back to the Philippines stronger than ever, thanks to Takayama's strict discipline and dogma.

Takayama Shinobu

Role: Head of State (Retaliatory invasion)

Party: 14th Army's Provisional Government, 14th Army Headquarters in the Philippines (Post-victory)

Ideology: Stratocracy^note Ultranationalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The Emperor's men march to wherever He decrees they are needed most. As He would have it, Takayama Shinobu departed Tokyo for a reunion with the land of the dead.

For the Philippine Islands now, as it had then, offers nothing but death. This lesson he'd learned as a lowly colonel under General Masaharu Homma. He'd seen better men than he succumb to its jungles and the bandits within. Heard their pitiful wails in the hospitals and the medical tents, teenagers-turned-conscripts begging for aspirin, their parents, a quick and painless death. Held their coffins before planes carried what remained of them home. No glory awaited the Empire's sons here, and such a place was worth only purgation, through and uncompromising, lest any more of them fell.

If only its generals learned the very same, rather than vaciliating between half measures for decades. Then the 14th Army wouldn't have died far away from home. Its commander, Masazumi Inada, wouldn't have gutted himself in shame. Alas, Takayama returns with an army reborn and directives no clearer: pacify the Islands, by any means necessary.

History shall repeat before it turns page anew. The Empire, its servant swears, will not be so lenient a second time.

The commander of the returning 14th Army following its defeat in Balintawak Blitz, hell-bent on crushing the rebellion and bringing the Philippines back into Japanese hands whatever the cost.

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• General Ripper: Takayama plans on retaking the Philippines under the Japanese flag and will not be so lenient on the rebels for their uprising.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Having already fought on the archipelago in World War II, Takayama knows that the campaign in the Philippines will be brutal, but he still follows Japan's orders to pacify the islands, no matter the cost.
• Necessarily Evil: Despite having witnessed the brutality of the original invasion, from Takayama's perspective, he believes that harsher reprisals are necessary to ensure that the locals would think twice from rebelling again.
• Noble Demon: Takayama genuinely cares for his subordinates in the 14th Army and is committed to seeing that their sacrifices are not in vain. Unfortunately for the Philippines, this translates into a far more ruthless campaign to ensure that no insurrection ever happens again.
• Pragmatic Villainy: If it were up to him, he would dissolve the Republic for its incompetence, especially after their failure to save Yulo from an assassination. However, he respects the reconstruction effort and lets them elect their leaders because the Emperor wants to keep the Republic and Takayama wouldn't dare defy him.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Takayama is frustrated by the Republic's inefficiency and claims that he could have prevented Yulo's assassination if he were present.
• War Is Hell: Takayama subscribes to this mindset, having witnessed the utter hell that Japanese soldiers had to endure during the Philippines invasion in World War II.

Inada Masazumi

Role: Head of State (Unsuccessful reconstruction)

Party: 14th Army Headquarters in the Philippines

Ideology: Interim Government^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Masazumi Inada is the latest in a long line of 14th Army commanders and protégés that had benefited handsomely from the Philippines' old status quo. Its underlying system, insofar as it can be called that, was inseparably intertwined with natives playing patronage politics. Thus, the experienced hand eased its successor into the convoluted web of friends, allies, and acquaintances taking "ignorable" slices of the Republic's wealth.

Much to the detriment of the bureaucrats whose funds buttress the country's growth, or the conscripts bereft with proper housing and equipment. Then again, did it really need the money? Anything more than a skeleton force? Not in the last decade, so surely neither in the next.

Then came 1963, when it suddenly did. Yasuda's collapse upended the status quo, as the Philippine economy nosedived after Tokyo stopped writing its checks. The Blitz crippled its system through its flaws, as ill-equipped conscripts died helplessly before the rebel hordes. The Manila Incident ended the system, and much of its participants, for good. Now the capital's skyline glows cherry-red with fire; meanwhile, Tokyo has entrusted Inada to quell it. Or else.

Squirreled away in Baguio with the government he had disbanded, a grifter in uniform counts his days as his golden goose chokes to death on its own blood.

The corrupt commander of the 14th Army. Much like the previous commanders before him, Inada doesn't really care at all for the army's sorry state and is more pre-occupied with enriching himself.

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• Better to Die than Be Killed: If the Second Philippine Republic is defeated in the Blitz, Inada will commit suicide before he can be captured.
• Corrupt Politician: Inada is among the many 14th Army commanders who have taken "ignorable" amounts of money from the Republic to fill his own pockets.
• Deadly Euphemism: When the Japanese reconstruction of the Philippines fails, Inada is tasked to "stabilize" the country quickly, while implying that there will be grave consequences if he fails.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Inada's suicide largely goes unmentioned by most because everyone in the 14th Army is too focused on rebuilding their strength and exacting revenge on the partisans.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Inada has evidently benefited from the KALIBAPI-run government's failings, using that to bolster the 14th Army's (and his own) influence.

Malaya

Shonan-Marai Gunseibu

^{Flag of the Sultanate of Johor}

^{Flag of the Federation of Malaya/Democratic Republic of Malaya}

Official Name: Military Governorate of Shonan-Marai, Sultanate of Johor (UMAJF-leaning ceasefire), Military Governorate of Shonan-to (Total UMAJF victory), Federation of Malaysia (right-wing victory in election), Democratic Republic of Malaya (socialist victory in election)

Party: 25th Army's Provisional Government

Ideology: Colonial Government^note Despotism

Japan's provisional puppet government in former British Malaya. Ever since their conquest of the peninsula in 1942, the Sphere has been fighting a continuous battle against Malay and Chinese guerrillas and both sides are stretched to their breaking point.

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• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • The situation the Japanese find themselves in is highly reminiscent of the Malayan Emergency faced by the British OTL.
  • P. Ramlee still finds a successful film career here, such as releasing the buddy-comedy film Labu Dan Labi, which is now focused on Labu and Labi working for a Zaibatsu and serving as a metaphor of the Sphere' oppression in East Asia.
  • The flag used for Malaya post elections is an OTL unsuccessful proposal created during the 50s.
• Bar Brawl: If Boestamam gets elected, a bar brawl breaks out and escalates into the Shonan-To Riot. It starts over an argument over import quotas being enforced by the Zaibatsu, with the Chinese civil servants complaining about being overworked and taxed, the Japanese businessmen trying to defend them as misguided but in the right, and the Indian and Malay shopkeepers who hate the growing business competition. By the time the police arrive to break it up, the main participants flee the scene, with one ominously warning that Japan's holdings in Malaya will one day be destroyed.
• Bigot vs. Bigot: The Malays and Indians are prejudiced against Chinese people as terrorists, while the Chinese disdain the Malays and Indians for being unfairly favored and given more benefits by Japan. As a result, ethnic conflicts occasionally break out between these groups.
• Bilingual Bonus: The kanji of the Shonan-Marai Gunseibu's flag translates to "25th Army", the military in temporary control of the government during the Malay Emergency.
• Break the Haughty: A Japanese soldier eagerly volunteers to put down the UMAJF out of pride in his country's Pan-Asian doctrine and dismisses any talk against it as American or Nazi propaganda. However, when the war is won, the soldier's faith is shaken when he sees the people's ambivalent looks to the triumphant Japanese, giving him a taste of how flawed his country's rhetoric is.
• Civil War: Right from the game's start, Malaya is torn apart in a two-way civil war between the Japanese puppet government and the UMAJF rebels.
• Les Collaborateurs:
  • Supporting the 25th Army are the Marai Giyugun, militias still believing in Pan-Asianism, though they aren't numerous and often corrupt.
  • The Sultanates of Malaya and Singapore were allowed to keep their power in exchange for collaborating with the Japanese, which they accepted.
• Crapsaccharine World: The collaborationist government in Shonan projects itself as a loyal vassal to Japan, with rich resource deposits and a booming population that enjoys a good education system and celebrates Japanese holidays. However, this all covers the growing resentment of the population against their foreign occupiers, which culiminated in the UMAJF's uprising.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: One of P. Ramlee's biggest hits is Ramchong Ke Tokyo, a romantic social commentary on the unequal relationship between Malays and Japanese. More than a few audience members worry Ramlee is pushing too many buttons on the Diet with his latest film.
• Head-in-the-Sand Management: As violent riots break out after after Jaafar's election, the Diet dithers and hesitates to do anything, leaving the residents to fend for themselves and letting the city burn.
• Humiliation Conga: If Razak gets elected by the UMAJF, a rapid series of crises hit Shonan-To in a matter of days, including a controversy of Sumitomo laying off Malay and Indian employees, a Chinese worker being murdered at a hotel, and the local Guard, mostly made up of Japanese officers, being sent to put down a riot mainly comprised of Chinese, Malay, and Indian citizens.
  This doesn't sound ominous at all.
• Deadly Euphemism: When riots break out after Burhanuddin Al-Helmy's election, the reason for these outbreaks is lost to history when their police reports are burned down with the government buildings. Some spread conspiracy theories that the Diet purposely let those papers be destroyed, but these voices are quickly silenced by bribes or by taking them "under the dockyards".
• Lonely at the Top: P. Ramlee is one of Shonan's most celebrated filmmakers and actors, but he has nobody to consider a true friend.
• Paper Tiger: The Japanese 25th Army is supposed to be one of the most elite units in the Sphere, guarding the strategic Straits of Malacca and the resources of Malaya. However, the constant attrition with the guerrillas have depleted its manpower and equipment. To make up for this, Shonan conscripts any abled person to compensate for the 25th's ineffeciency and form a marginally more competent fighting force.
• Please Select New City Name: Under Japanese occupation, Singapore has been renamed to Shonan-to.
• Proxy War: Shonan is Japan's proxy to bring Malaya back under their control against the rebelling UMAJF. Guangdong also sends weapons to Shonan, if only to test out Sony, Matsushita, or Fujitsu's experimental rifles.
• Puppet King: At least initially, the Japanese tried to make the old royal houses into their glorified proxies. It didn’t work, with the Interim Government by 1962 already teetering on the brink of collapse.
• Puppet State: "Shonan" means "Light of the South" in celebration of Malaya and Singapore's liberation from British colonization. Truthfully, Shonan is anything but, as Japanese businessmen dominate the scene and extract the country's raw resources for their own personal gain.
• "Rashomon"-Style: After Burhanuddin's election, an ethic conflict breaks out between two mobs, one Chinese and the other comprised of Malays and Indians. A Japanese commander and the police arrive to break up the fighting, but accounts diverge from here. The Chinese protestors claim that the commander ordered the police to five on them. However, the Indian protestors claim that the commander only sent the police to push back the Malays and Indians, while leaving the Chinese alone. In either case, all semblance of order breaks down and the mobs stampede to fight each other, with the commander never seen again.
• The Scapegoat: When an armaments storehouse is destroyed in a riot, the government blames "communist saboteurs" for the incident, despite having no concrete evidence to prove their claim.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Keeping control of Malaya has been a massive money sink for Japan, with the 25th Army unable to put the UMAJF rebels down for good. However, they can never leave the country because its resources are vital to the Sphere and Shonan-to must be protected at all costs.
• Unwanted Rescue: The arriving Japanese soldiers sent to quash the UMAJF are barely tolerated by the native Malayans, who can see through the propaganda lies that they're fighting for their liberation and freedom from foreign imperialism.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After Razak's election, Sumitomo conducts a "minor economic restructuring" that lays off a few dozen employees, most of whom are Malay and Indian. Despite the relative insignificance of this event, many see this as undeniable proof that Japan is prioritizing their interests over the native people, kickstarting a massive riot that only gets worse with a series of other controversies.
• We ARE Struggling Together: A major contributor to Shonan's lack of stability is the thin network between the country's allies, in which most of the country's collaborators regularly fight each other for more personal power, even leading some to become sympathizers with the nation's rebels.

Yamamoto Moichiro

Role: Military Commander, Head of State

Party: 25th Army's Provisional Government

Ideology: Colonial Government^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}For Major General Yamamoto Moichiro, Malaya was supposed to be one last hurrah in a storied, politically fruitful yet bloodied career throughout Japan's conquests of China and the former Dutch East Indies. When the Malayan revolt broke out following the collapse of the talks between the Marai Hokokai and the ever-increasingly centralising Republic of Indonesia, Yamamoto was reassigned from Java, being an important contributor to the negotiation of Indonesian "independence", to step in and lead the Japanese intervention.

The initial phases of the intervention were successful, as the United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front was driven out of major population centres in most of Malaya, barring the resource-rich and strategically vital regions of northern Perak and Pahang. Ever since then however, Yamamoto's last hurrah has turned into a rapidly deteriorating quagmire, with a disappearing enemy incredibly proficient in jungle warfare. However, the situation does not end there - in fact, it's even worse than expected.

With the Republic of India, and some say the OFN aiding the broad front of anti-Japanese insurgents, Yamamoto has resorted to escalation: a rational measure in his eyes, as the Malayan population has been incredibly resistant to Japanese efforts at collaboration. To this end, he has brought some of the original architects of Malayan victory, such as the infamous counter-insurgency strategist Nishiura Susumu. Time is against Yamamoto however, as his own retirement looms large - and so does the momentum of UMAJF.

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• Cincinnatus: Moichiro will only hold power until Peng's rebels are suppressed before he steps down and opens elections to decide on Malaysia's next leader.
• Obliviously Evil: Moichiro considers his increasingly extreme crack downs against the UMAJF as a justified measure to restore order back to Malaya.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: Moichiro planned on ending his career with a last "hurrah" by driving the UMAJF from Shonan. While he did successfully drive them from the more resource-rich and strategically vital regions of the nation, he's still been unable to dislodge them completely and faces a hopeless guerrilla war that can escalate to a full-blown civil war.

Kurosawa Takeo

Role: Head of State (Total UMAJF Victory)

Party: Shonan-to Garrison HQ

Ideology: Colonial Government^note Despotism

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• The Remnant: If the Japanese colonial government loses control over Malaya, Kurosawa will rally the remnant Japanese forces and retreat to Singapore. Luckily for them, the UMAJF can't attack them there because Singapore is too important for Japan to lose and any invasion there would threaten more heavy Japanese intervention that the rebels have no chance of winning against.

Burhanuddin Al-Helmy

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya^note Malay Nationalist Party

Ideology: Left-Wing Nationalism^note Socialism

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• Dark Horse Victory: Given his socialist beliefs, few would've expected that Burhanuddin can win the Malayan elections after the collaborators win the Malayan Emergency.
• Internal Reformist: Burhanuddin's platform is based on delivering a mix of socialist and Islamic reforms to fix the collaborationist government's worst flaws.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Though a Japanese collaborator, Burhanuddin is disliked by Japan as too radical for his own good. His anti-colonialist rhetoric might stand opposed to Japanese influence in Malaya and his amiable attitude towards Sukarno in Indonesia might empower the latter's regime too much and upset the balance of power in the Sphere.

Dato Onn Jaafar

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party:

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

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• Necessarily Evil: Onn doesn't enjoy working for Japan and earnestly wants a free Malaya, but he stands opposed to the UMAJF because he believes liberation can only come from negotiating a decolonization with Japan.
• Puppet King: His willingness to work with Japan makes him the perfect figurehead for them to exert their control over Malaya.
• The Quisling: Onn is content to keep Malaya under Japan's thumb, which is his campaign receives significant Japanese support during the Malayan elections.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: After the Malayan Emergency and elections, Onn will have to contend with his growing age and the increasing fractures within his own party, which will significantly hamper his ability to govern the nation.

Syed Jaafar Albar

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Persatuan Melayu Semenanjung^note Peninsular Malay Association

Ideology: National Conservatism^note Paternalism

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• The Friend Nobody Likes: Most of the Japanese establishment dislikes Syed Jaafar because is a Malayan nationalist who might commit ethnic violence and make the Sphere's unequal nature all the more obvious. He only ends up ascending to the premiership when either Jaafar passes away or when a ceasefire is called, where no other worthy leader can take power because Burhanuddin was murdered by partisans.
• Meet the New Boss: Whether he succeeds Onn upon his passing or just blatantly seizes power himself, Syed Jaafar has the same foreign agenda in mind: continued collaboration with the Japanese.
• Patriotic Fervor: Syed Jaafar can rise to power in the collaborationist government by espousing nationalist views that win him the support of native Malayans, at the potential cost of starting ethnic violence against the country's minorities.
• The Quisling: Syed Jaafar is eager to collaborate with the Japanese, even if it means subjecting his own people to another round of colonial oppression. On the other end, Japan dislikes his overt nationalism, but will accept him as Prime Minister because he can be useful counterbalance to the growing Thai influence in Southeast Asia.

Ismail bin Ibrahim

Role: Head of State (UMAJF-leaning ceasefire)

Party: Ismail's Court

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

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• The Quisling: Ismail is a Malaysian soldier serving under the Japanese collaborationist government and will be appointed as its leader if the Malayan Emergency ends in a ceasefire.

UMAJF

^{Flag of the Provisional Government of Malaysia}

^{Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army}

^{Flag of the All-Malayan Revolutionary Front}

Official Name: United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front

Victory against Japan: Provisional Government of Malaysia, Federation of Malaysia (Razak), Democratic Republic of Malaysia (Boestmam)

Loss against Japan: Provisional Government of Malaysia (Askar Wataniah Takeover), Malayan National Liberation Army (MPAJA Takeover), All-Malayan Revolutionary Front (Emergency Rule ended)

Ruling Party: United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front - Parti Komunis Malaya^note Communist Party of Malaya

Ideology: Mao Zedong Thought^note Communism

An alliance of Malay and Chinese partisans fighting against the Japanese and their collaborators. While driven from major cities, the resistance is still alive, if depleted.

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• Apathetic Citizens: If the CIA begins to meddle with Malaysian elections, it will soon find that most Malaysians are largely politically illiterate and that campaigning with banners and posters are ineffective. Other tactics seem to work better.
• Chummy Commies: The UMAJF is a communist united front dedicated to freeing Malaysia from Japanese imperialism by any means necessary, including cooperating with the OFN.
• Commonality Connection: An American representative and UMAJF general empathize with each other when they discuss all they've lost to the Japanese, with the former losing his family when Hawaii was occupied, while the latter lost his son when Japanese soldiers shot him in cold blood.
• Deal with the Devil: Should the UMAJF take a port, the OFN is more than willing to flood them with guns, advisors and supplies. While their neighbors may sneer at them for receiving assistance from the west, at least they will be free and very well-armed.
• The Determinator: The UMAJF starts at a disadvantageous position to Shonan, but all of their fighters are still determined to fight for their cause, casually disregarding the possibility of death.
• Easy Logistics: Subverted. The American aid to the UMAJF is hindered by a lack of ports to send them substantial help, which makes it incredibly vital for the rebels to acquire one if they want to win.
• Enemy Mine: The UMAJF is an alliance between four different groups: the Communist Party of Malaya (PKM) led by Chin Peng, the socialists under Ahmad Boestamam, the nationalist PEKEMBAR under Tun Abdul Razak, and the Askar Wataniah Regiment under pro-nationalist General Yeop Mahidin.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: A CIA agent and Malay contact discuss sending financial aid to Razak's election campaign, disguising themselves as fishermen talking about partitioning their share. Since this is a common sight, the conversation goes unheard by bystanders.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Many deride the UMAJF's outreach for generous American support, but the group justifies their actions as necessary to liberate Shonan.
• We ARE Struggling Together: If the Malayan Emergency lasts too long and the UMAJF fails to gain enough territory, the MPAJA and Askar Wataniah will break ranks and put the conflict to a screeching halt.

Chin Peng

Role: Military Commander, Head of State

Party: United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front - Parti Komunis Malaya^note Communist Party of Malaya, Barisan Rakyat Malaya - Persatuan^note Malayan People's Front - Association (Defeated by Japan)

Ideology: Mao Zedong Thought^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A man shrouded in myth and lionisation, Chin Peng, born Ong Boon Hua, is the current public enemy number one for the Shonan-Marai Military Government - a hardened, relentless fighter in the thick jungles and hills of central and northern Malaya. Successfully leading the 1957 anti-Japanese revolt amidst the collapse of the Marai Hokokai, Chin Peng has led his Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army through success and failure - a campaign forged in blood with comrades born in fire, as well as comrades of convenience.

However, not all was bright for the hardened guerrilla. The desperate situation in the dark years of 1959-1961 has forced the already-stranded MPAJA to escalate violent raids on villages and settlements along the Thai-Malayan border simply to survive - placing the very settlements the MPAJA claims to protect at the firing line of Japan's ruthless counter-insurgency methods. It seems like time was running out, until Chin Peng received a telegram from fellow resistants within the Askar Wataniah. And thus, the United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front was forged in fire in early 1961.

The insurgency's fortunes quickly shifted, as the Front was able to secure vital ports along the Western Malayan coast - allowing further support from the Republic of India (and some say, a greater benefactor) to aid the Front. A normalisation of relations with anti-Japanese states is a compromise Chin Peng can get behind, though he is not entirely unaware that the non-Communist armed opposition to Japan is growing. Short of seizing power for himself and collapsing the Front, he is forced to scale back his political ambitions: allying with the comparatively moderate Ahmad Boestamam. Boestamam has his own ambitions, but the two are symbiotic for the time being, as Boestamam relies on the MPAJA for muscle, and the MPAJA relies on Boestamam for popular legitimacy.

In-Game Biography (Japanese-leaning Ceasefire) ^{Click to Show}More than 20 years of struggle, two wars, a traitor's plot and the defeat of the UMAJF punches through the spirits inside the revolutionary fighters of Parti Komunis Malaya. The great gambit for independence, forged with the necessity to form an alliance with the reactionaries and nationalists alike had failed. The breakdown of the UMAJF had nearly sealed the fate of Chin Peng and his fighters to be pushed back into the forests, forced to fight from the shadows, broken in spirit and muscle. Not this time- Yasuda's collapse rocked the Rising Sun enough that the traitors cannot push forward into their revolutionary bastion.

A naive man could assume Chin Peng's rump state cannot last with the Rising Sun's puppets surrounding them, but the man that was Ong Boon Hua says otherwise. Never had one thought the PKM would be able to spring out of the forests holding more than a few villages, let alone span several states. No, even if he was defeated in battle, the PKM's communist spirit has reached the top rungs of leadership. A promise to all of Malaya had been made: he would not stop fighting as long as Japanese lapdogs taint Malaya and bring their rightful riches away to enrich themselves.

But could the war-torn lands of Malaya stomach another long struggle and war for freedom from the Japanese before the land is broken? Can Chin Peng's state survive their precarious position and bring the revolution to the south? Or is Malaya doomed to have each of its struggle beaten down, fated to be the subjects of a foreign power? Only time can tell.

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• Chummy Commies: Peng is a Malaysian Chinese communist fighting for the liberation of his home country against Japanese imperialism.
• Cincinnatus: If the UMAJF triumphs in the Malayan Emergency, Peng plans on acting as a caretaker governor, until new elections are held and a president is formally chosen. However, this becomes Subverted if the UMAJF achieve ceasefire in favor of the collaborators, in which he adopts emergency powers and is unlikely to step down in the near future.
• The Determinator: Peng will stop at nothing to liberate Malaya from both the Japanese and Americans. Even if a Japanese-leaning ceasefire occurs, Peng will never stop fighting from the jungles, awaiting a chance to strike again.
• Occupiers Out of Our Country: Peng is not only opposed to the Japanese occupation, but also to the possibility of the United States staying in Malaysia and replacing the Japanese, once the Malayan Emergency is over. If the UMAJF wins and Peng stays in power, he will cut ties with the OFN and pursue an independent foreign policy.
• Old Soldier: Peng has been fighting the Japanese for over 20 years.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: If the Malayan Emergency ends in a Japanese-leaning ceasefire, Peng will need to adopt emergency powers to stop a coup attempt by Askar Wataniah and hold off further Japanese attacks, becoming a dictator in the process.
  The light of democracy fades away.
• Who Needs Enemies?: He is only allied with the OFN so long as Japan continues to occupy Malaya. If he remains in control of the country after the conflict ends, he ceases all continued diplomatic ties with the United States.

Ahmad Boestamam

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: United Malayan Anti-Japanese Front - Parti Buruh Malaya^note Labour Party of Malaya, Gabungan Peralihan Tanah Melayu^note Transitional Coalition of Malaya (UMAJF Victory)

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

The socialist candidate for Malaysian leadership, supported by both both Peng's communists and moderate socialists.

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• Choosing Neutrality: Boestamam can only be called an American ally during the Malayan Emergency, where the rest of the UMAJF relies on OFN aid to expel the Japanese. Once the conflict is over, Boestamam will cut ties with the OFN, which would be an unfavorable outcome for the United States.
• Chummy Commies: Besides being a socialist, Boestamam is dedicated to rebuilding Malaysia after its devastating civil war.
• Graceful Loser: If Razak wins the election, Boestamam will feel frustrated about the people rejecting his rhetoric, but he doesn't hold if personally against his opponent and only implores him to not let the Americans garner too much power and turn Malaya into another puppet state.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He recognizes that not many are keen on accepting his socialist ideas, leading him to ally with more moderate elements in the UMAJF to keep the coalition together.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: Upon taking power via election, a large nationalist movement rises up in opposition to him, indicating that his efforts to reform Malaya will not be easier than liberating it from Japan.

Tun Abdul Razak

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu^note United Malay National Organization

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

The American backed candidate for Malaysian leadership, representing right-wing nationalists.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: He can become Prime Minister of Malaysia just like OTL, albeit a decade early.
• Every Man Has His Price: The CIA can utilize its lavish budget to bribe Malaysian politicians and political campaigners to smoothen Razak's way to victory.
  The drug called payola is quite effective
• Voluntary Vassal: Razak is friendlier to OFN interests than Boestamam and will turn Malaya into an OFN observer, if he gets elected.
• Won the War, Lost the Peace: Even if Razak secures election after the Malayan Emergency, a strong socialist coalition, led by Boestamam, stands opposed to his agenda, casting doubt on if the new president can push his agenda without tearing the nation apart.
• Worthy Opponent: Even after Razak beats Ahmad Boestaman in the Malaysian elections handily with sufficient CIA support, when the latter voices his frustration and accuses the former of being in the pocket of the CIA, Razak takes the time to listen to and empathize with his defeated foe, befriending him in the process.

Yeop Mahidin

Role: Military Commander, Head of State (Japanese-leaning ceasefire)

Party: Askar Wataniah^note Territorial Army

Ideology: Military Junta^note Despotism

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• Cincinnatus: Once he seizes power, Mahidin institutes a temporary military junta, promising to eventually step down when Tun Hussein Onn arrives back from exile in India. Many cast doubt on the authenticity of his promise, but Mahidin can actually live up to it and let Hussein take over.
• The Coup: In the case of a Shonan-leaning victory scenario in the Malayan Emergency, Mahidin and the Askar Wataniah can coup Peng's MPAJA, establishing a temporary dictatorship until the return of Hussein.
• Paper Tiger: Though the Askar Wataniah regime is outwardly popular, it is still quite fragile, especially as the Malaysian communists still exert considerable influence in the countryside and Japan awaits an opportunity to further destabilize a potential American ally next to them.
• Voluntary Vassal: Sympathetic to the OFN, Mahidin begs for financial aid from them to prop up his regime in the war-torn peninsula, including a request for $1.5 billion per annum.

Tun Hussein Onn

Role: Head of State (Mahidin succession)

Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy^note Paternalism

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• The Exile: Since the Japanese conquest of Malaya, Hussein has lived in exile in the Republic of India, though he can return if Mahidin takes over the UMAJF remnants and steps down from power.
• Odd Friendship: Hussein is surprisingly good friends with LeMay from the United States, with the latter promising that the NPP will send more aid to Malaya and defending him from a racist who confronts the two.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Hussein is willing to compromise with the collaborationist government and reunite bloodlessly to end their feud. Even better, this approach can work, as the UMAJF remnants can peacefully unite Malaya, with the exception of Shonan-to.

North Borneo

Nanpo Gunseikan

Official Name: North Borneo Military Administration, North Borneo Transitional Authority (Dismantlement)

Ruling Party: 37th Army

Ideology: Colonial Government^note Despotism

The Japanese military administration over the former British Borneo, commanded by General Baba Masao and his 37th Army.

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• Balkanize Me: In Takagi's route, the Nanpo Gunseikan will be balkanized into three states: itself, Sarawak, and Brunei.
• Bilingual Bonus: The kanji on the Nanpo Gunseikan's flag translates to "Inspectorate General of Southern Military Government"; it is a truncated version of "Inspectorate General of Military Government, Southern Army" (Japanese: 南方軍軍政総監部), the military occupation administration of the IJA Southern Expeditionary Army Group.
• Day of the Jackboot: the North Borneo Administration is where the IJA's presence in Southeast Asia is most directly felt, with the military garrison having near-absolute control, and a blank check to do whatever it wants away from Tokyo's prying eyes.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Should Takagi become Prime Minister and order an investigation into the North Borneo Administration, he can have the IJA garrison withdraw, rationalizing that it’s causing more trouble than it’s worth. The territory is instead handed to a transitional authority tasked with overseeing its partition.
• Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: An investigation of North Borneo under Prime Minister Takagi reveals a web of corruption and brutality that shocks the Japanese government into dissolving it.
• Wretched Hive: While North Borneo on paper is strictly run by the IJA garrison, in practice it's rife with myriad abuses and exploitation. So much so that should these come to light under Prime Minister Takagi's investigation, he has the territory dissolved and partitioned almost immediately.

Baba Masao

Role: Head of State

Party: 37th Army

Ideology: Colonial Government^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The British belongings in Borneo always held a special place in the Japanese plans in their quest of the Asian dominance. For a time, the oil resources of the island were objects of temptation for the economic giants of the Empire and its strategic position amidst the shipping routes between East Asia and Australia proved to be invaluable for reinforcing the Japanese units across the battlefields in Asia. After the short and triumphant campaign of the Japanese forces in Borneo, the former British territories were reorganized as a domain for the military, to be held by a strong-willed and determined commander. This man was Baba Masao, the general of the 37th Army, once fancied as the Borneo Defence Army.

A hereditary army officer and student of the Prussian discipline, Baba saw his career's upheaval during the Japanese war in Indonesia, paving his way through victories against the Americans. Subsequently, he became the commander of the garrison in Borneo and its military governor, a post he held ever since for his past glory, remaining unchallenged by his rivals and enviers. Befitting for a Japanese military ruler, Baba ruled with an iron fist, not shying away from any brutal methods to suppress any attempts at resistance and enforce his will. A believer in the Japanese supremacy above everything else, he furthered the Japanese assimilation policies in the region and turned it into a playground for the Japanese monopolies each seeking to get their share of riches from the island.

As North Borneo was turned into a heavily militarized and entretched zone following the course of the war and its aftermath, the former British protectorate became the outpost for the Army in maritime Southeast Asia. Maintaining its strong presence at the border with Indonesia, the 37th Army under Baba serves as a reinforcer of the Japanese hold in the Greater Sunda Islands and as a 'supplemental' force to the collaborationist governments, should they fail to hold the anti-Sphere insurgencies by themselves.

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• Evil Colonialist: Baba Masao is a tyrant who does not shy away from any brutal methods to suppress any attempts at resistance and enforce his will. A believer in Japanese supremacy, he furthered Japanese assimilation policies in North Borneo and turned it into a playground for Japanese zaibatsu, each seeking for their share of riches from the island.
• False Reassurance: Masao is on the receiving end of this from Takagi upon being ordered back to Japan. While he's ostensibly being given a hero's welcome and commendation, he breaks down upon realizing that this is only a pretext to his imminent trial in light of the government's investigation into Borneo.
• Villainous Breakdown: In Takagi's Conservative path, Masao loses it upon being recalled back to Japan. Despite ostensibly receiving a hero's welcome, he knows that his days are numbered once the truth comes to light.

Sugiyama Shigeru

Role: Head of State (Nanpo Gunseikan Dismantled)

Party: 37th Army Headquarters

Ideology: Interim Government^note Despotism

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• Boring, but Practical: Sugiyama's control of North Borneo is far more limited than Masao's, but this means that Japan doesn't waste as much money on maintaining their tight occupation of North Borneo, delegating that job to the native collaborators and giving leeway for how Japan can spend their funds.
• Cincinnatus: Sugiyama is tasked to oversee the transition of power to local collaborators, with the bulk of the garrison being withdrawn once this is accomplished.

Brunei

Official Name: Sultanate of Brunei

Ruling Party: House Waddien

Ideology: Absolute Monarchy^note Despotism

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• Bilingual Bonus: There are two lines of Arabic text on their text, reading "Always in service with God's guidance" and "Brunei, the Abode of Peace", reflecting the Islamic influence in the country.
• The Good Kingdom: The restoration of the monarchy in Brunei is portrayed as a positive consequence of Takagi's reforms and a restoration of autonomy back to the natives.

Omar Ali Saifuddien III

Role: Head of State

Party: House Waddien

Ideology: Absolute Monarchy^note Despotism

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• Rightful King Returns: After the Nanpo Gunseikan is dismantled, Saifuddien will be invited back to power as the Sultan of Brunei, restoring independence back to the country.

Sarawak

Official Name: Raj of Sarawak

Ruling Party: Parti Negara Sarawak^note Sarawak National Party

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

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• La Résistance: With help from the OFN, the people of Sarawak have bitterly resisted the Japanese occupation of their homeland, in which they may get their semi-independence when Takagi dismantles the Nanpo Gunseikan and releases them as a Japanese aligned state

Abang Haji Mustapha

Role: Head of State

Party: Parti Negara Sarawak^note Sarawak National Party

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

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• The Quisling: Mustapha has collaborated with the Japanese ever since their occupation of Sarawak in World War II, in which he can then take charge of the country if Takagi dissolves the Nanpo Gunseikan.

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