Since Kill Yuan is set in an AO I haven’t ventured into before, I thought it might be useful to set out a bit of an orientation.
The setting is the South China Sea, recently the scene of extensive maritime territorial disputes between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Other countries have become peripherally involved (including the US), to include Indonesia and Malaysia. To get a bit of a picture of the overall geography of the disputes, here’s a map:
As part of its program of expanded influence, China has not only been expanding its naval presence in the Spratlys and the Paracels, but it has actually been building artificial islands to further cement its claims. A good brief of the overall situation by the BBC is here.
Shang Xiao (Captain) Yuan isn’t so foolish as to set up his little pirate kingdom right in the middle of Chinese-claimed waters, however. The scene of most of the action will be the Anambas Islands, between Borneo and mainland Malaysia.
Real world, the Islands are something of a tourist destination, with plenty of snorkeling, diving, and fishing, though the easternmost islands are primarily bases for Conoco Phillips, Premier Oil, and Star Energy. It also happens to sit right on the primary sea route between the Straits of Malacca and China, Taiwan, and Japan. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has a decent map of the major shipping lanes.
Here’s a bit more of a closeup of islands, courtesy of Google Earth:
So, there’s a quick, down-and-dirty orientation of the Kill Yuan Area of Operations. Should have a cover soon, and hopefully a release date.
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