Panauan Civil War

Panauan Civil War
Panauan Civil War
Just Cause 2

The Ular Boys seizing Kem Hutan from the government.
Location:	Panau, Southeast Asia
Result:	Opposition victory, Pandak Panay overthrown
Belligerents
Opposition: Reapers Ular Boys Roaches The Agency White Tiger(disbanded)	Government: Panau Government
Commanders
Bolo Santosi Sri Irawan Razak Razman Tom Sheldon	Pandak Panay †
Strength
Unknown, grows as the game progresses One soldier, two non-combat personnel, two agents	Panau Military
Casualties
Unknown, however, their international benefactors die in Three Kings (without the factions knowing) Karl Blaine dies in a suicide attack Marshall appears to be killed by anti-aircraft fire	Unknown, depends on the player; several high-ranking commanders assassinated, a large number of soldiers killed, and a large number of vehicles destroyed or captured (strongholds)

The Panauan Civil War is a military conflict that dominates the storyline of Just Cause 2.

Spoiler warning: Significant plot details follow.

Info summary[]

Initially a minor conflict, the war very nearly exploded into a regional crisis as Russia, China and Japan were all involved supporting different factions opposing the sitting regime. This was prevented by the involvement of The Agency, which destroyed the Panau Selatan oil fields and theraby made the island less interesting to foreign powers. The war ends when Rico Rodriguez kills the president, preventing a nuclear attack on Russia, China and Japan in the process. According to Tom Sheldon, a U.S.-friendly president is installed afterwards.

Prelude[]

At an unspecified point, Pandak "Baby" Panay seizes power in Panau by assassinating his father. The Reapers faction, which had been active since the Cold War, responds by launching a guerilla war with the support of the People's Republic of China. The Ular Boys launch their own armed rebellion with the backing of Japan, hoping to reclaim their ancient homeland and turn Panau into an isolationist state. The Roaches, who had prospered under the previous regime, take to arms to protect their drug trade business and other interests on the island. A fourth group named the White Tiger is created by Tom Sheldon in order to stay undercover while investigating possible foreign involvement on Panau; however, he has to cut off ties with The Agency to do so, leading the latter to conclude he has gone rogue. This misunderstanding would be clarified after the The White Tiger mission well into the war.

War[]

With a mission to topple Panay and reinstall a U.S.-friendly president, The Agency establishes contact with the three main factions and assist them in return for intel on the White Tiger group. This is done through Rico Rodriguez disguising himself as a mercenary for hire, allowing him to work for all three groups and assisting them in capturing their first strongholds. The Reapers storm the Gunung Gila Pangkat military facility in the Berawan Besar Mountains; the Ular Boys establish a foothold in East Tanah Raya by capturing the Awan Cendawan Power Plant; and the Roaches seize the Pelabuhan Saudagar Harbor to ensure free drug trade. While neither of the groups control any territory outside their strongholds, they are able to operate relatively freely in the surrounding areas.

After increasing their influence in their respective stronghold areas, the rebels push to capture new strongholds. The Reapers seize the Kem Gunung Gurun Supply Depot in the Lautan Lama Desert, the Ulars turn on West Tanah Raya and capture the holy village of Kampung Bahari to save it from demolition, and the Roaches take the Emas Hitam Oil Refinery in the Pelaut Archipelago - again for economical reasons.

Around this time, the Agency is able to locate the White Tiger rebel group and Tom Sheldon, fulfilling their first objective on Panau. The organization continue to investigate the possibility of foreign involvement on the island, and it is revealed that each faction is backed by foreign powers with different motives. Foreign involvement is temporarily stalled following the successful Three Kings mission, but the damage is already done. On the verge of defeat, Panay deploys his nuclear warheads to attack the United States, Russia, China and Japan, something Rico barely manages to stop by dismantling the rockets midair. Standing on one of the rockets, Panay is killed when he crashes into the Panau Selatan oil fields. With the death of Panay, the Agency assists in installing a pro-US president on Panau, ending the civil war.

Strategy[]

The different agendas of the rebel groups is displayed by their different tactics; while the Reapers fight a traditional Cold War people's war with striking government property and capturing equipment and resources, the Ulars care just as much about protecting their smuggling as taking on the government military. Finally, being the only group that doesn't aspire to take over Panau, the Roaches conduct mafia operations on mere economic motivates. On a few occasions the Reapers take on the Roaches, but the conflict never escalates into a full-blown inter-outlaw war.

The Agency is mostly involved behind the scenes, though they are sometimes forced to take on the government army directly. Finally the government army is a huge organization and in possession of sophisticated weaponry (including an atomic submarine and nuclear warheads), but their anti-insurgency campaign has little success and the military appears incompetent and with low morale. Though possessing a technologically advanced air force of an unknown size, it is never deployed against the rebels.

In addition to this, even the military has traitors, like in Pulling a Jeremy.