Captain Wong is strongly discouraged from interfering in local planetary affairs, even though his forces could help the threatened government. The ambassador judges that the evidence points to an external attack and formally requests military protection. Her assessment and request give him political authorization to deploy the ground division. Wong then asks whether the same enemy is likely to seize orbit, connecting the surface emergency to the security of the ship above it.
Notable Point · 2:28:17-2:29:28
A captain needs political authority before intervening ashore
The ambassador judges the assault to be external and requests protection before Wong commits ground troops.