Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (12 page)

 
          
“A
very positive attitude, Comrade General,” Jiang said. “But what about the
Americans? What will their response be? In the past, they have threatened
nuclear war with Zhongguo to protect the Nationalists. Only the threat of
nuclear war kept us from reoccupying
Quemoy
in
1958.”

 
          
“The
Americans have no interest in the region, and they certainly have no stomach
for nuclear war,” Chin said confidently. “We have historical and legal rights
to
Taiwan
, a fact that has never been disputed by the Americans. Even after the
Philippines
conflict,
America
has no presence in the area. Private
American companies assisted us in exploiting the wealth of the region—that is
the extent of American presence. As always, their government’s policy is
dictated by the capitalist overlords, and for now the capitalists demand that
they help us exploit the oil deposits, so they dictate that their government
step aside. But now it is our time to enjoy what is rightfully and legally
ours.

 
          
“The
United
States
will complain of our actions, but the deed will be done, and after time
the conflict will be forgotten,” Chin went on in a loud, demonstrative voice. “
China
invests twenty-seven billion dollars a year
in the
United States
; we are responsible for creating ten
million jobs in that country alone. They dare not start a war that might result
in our country withdrawing all that economic support. Their carriers are not in
position to oppose us. Why? Because they fear our economic power, and they fear
an unpopular and costly war for a province they do not care about—
Taiwan
. The
United States
wants
China
united again. They do not want a divided
China
because they have suffered defeat in every
other such conflict in
Asia
—
Korea
and
Vietnam
. They fight for a nation that cares nothing
about the
United States
, and they are defeated. They will not fight
for
Taiwan
.”

 
          
There
was a general nodding of heads in the commission chamber, Jiang observed—all
except Admiral Sun. The Black Tiger had been the most enthusiastic and vocal
supporter of the idea of asserting dominance in
Asia
, now, when the actual framework of a plan
was introduced, he was silent. Sun was not brooding or resentful because he had
been slapped down by General Chin.

 
          
.
. . and then Jiang realized that Admiral Sun actually dared to
disagree
with his superior officer, in
the middle of a Central Military Commission meeting! Sun was still sitting on
his hands, not averting his eyes but not meeting Chin’s murderous gaze either.
To everyone’s surprise, Jiang turned to the youngest of all his generals and
asked, “Comrade Sun, do you agree with General Chin’s assessment?”

 
          
Sun
moved slowly to his feet, riveting the attention of all. He stood and bowed to
Jiang, then said, “Sir, Sun-tzu advises us that being unconquerable lies within
oneself, and that being conquerable lies within the enemy. In that regard, I
agree with General Chin—we must quickly retake
Taiwan
, capture and imprison all Kuomintang
officials, and heavily fortify it with our best naval, air, and air defense
forces. But with all due respect, I do not agree with General Chin regarding an
attack on
Quemoy
, or about the Americans.”

 
          
“Oh?
Explain yourself, Admiral.”

           
“Comrade General Chin is quite
correct: the American capitalists and special interests determine the law and
direction of government in the United States,” Sun went on. “The American
government does not interfere in the
South China Sea
because the American oil companies profit by operating the drilling
platforms; they do not side with the Nationalists because it is in their
economic interests to side
with.
us.
But if we bombard
Taiwan
or
Quemoy
and imprison or kill theJMationalist
leadership, they will seek retribution from the American government and its
military forces. And as mighty as the People’s Liberation Army is, we cannot
long stand against a strong, determined, organized American military. It would
be a complete failure. My former commander of the South China Sea Fleet,
Admiral Yin Po Lun, acting on orders from General Chin, proved this.

 
          
“In
my opinion, the Nationalist forces on
Quemoy
can
easily withstand a blockade, bombardment, and even a full-scale invasion long
enough for the
United States
to organize a counterattack,” Sun went on.
“Meanwhile, our country would suffer the anger of world opinion. We would be
twice defeated.”

 
          
General
Chin looked as if he were about to explode; the other generals shifted
resdessly, offended but interested enough to want to hear more before they tore
off this insolent pup’s stars.
What
nerve!
Jiang thought.
What courage!
Sun could be dead in four hours—Chin could never allow Sun to remain on his
general staff after this blatant show of disrespect, and Jiang knew of Chins
henchmen that would work secretly and effectively to cause Sun to have an
untimely, unexplained “accident”—but Jiang admired him his youthful strength
and audacity. Chin thundered, “I order you to leave this chamber and report
to—! ”

 
          
Jiang
raised a hand. “I wish for the young admiral to continue,” he said, then turned
his hand palm upward, a signal to continue. Chin looked as if he had been
slapped—he even rubbed his face, as if still feeling the blow. Jiang said, “So,
Comrade Admiral, you think we cannot prevail against the Americans?”

 
          
“Not
in a direct engagement with an organized, determined, and bloodthirsty American
military force, sir,” Sun replied. “The American military—any large military force,
including our
own
—is like a large,
heavy sledgehammer. It is unwieldy and takes great strength to employ, but once
in action, it is highly effective. Hammer against hammer, army against army,
the American military is clearly superior, and Sun-tzu teaches us to evade a
superior opponent.

 
          
“But
the buzzing of a single mosquito, the hot rays of the sun, or a single bead of
sweat in the eyes can disrupt he who wields the hammer enough so that his blows
are less effective, or can even prevent him from swinging the hammer
altogether. Even more important, if the target of the hammers blow is small,
irregular, or moves too quickly, even the best smith can miss his mark. After
several ineffective blows, the strongest smith will tire, lose patience, make
mistakes, and eventually cease. He has lost. He has been defeated by a vastly
inferior force—and he has been defeated by
himself.

 
          
“Sir,
I have studied the
tao
of the
American military, and I have examined our
tao,
and my studies conclude that the Americans have no desire for prolonged battle
in
Asia
. Asia in general and China in particular
have an aura of deadly mystery and foreboding for Westerners—they fear China’s
massive population, its history of violence and warfare, our homogeneous
society, and the knowledge we have gained over centuries of civilization.
Americans in particular are reluctant to have anything to do with us, fearing
to be drawn into another protracted Vietnam-like battle—they fear traveling far
from home, of being drawn into a dark tunnel of mystery and killed by punji
sticks and knives carried by billions of tiny yellow hands. And they are far
weaker than they appear. The American navy is three-fourths the size it was in
1991 after the Persian Gulf War; the American air force is almost half the
size. American forces in
Japan
, including
Okinawa
, have been cut in half since 1992. And for
all their bluster about safeguarding
Taiwan
, the
United States
still has not recognized the Nationalist
government and still has no embassy, consulate, bases, soldiers, advisors, or
equipment there. During the Olympic games last year, the Americans even
referred to the rebel government as ‘Chinese Taipei,’ not as ‘
Taiwan
’ or the ‘Republic of China.’

 
          
“But
even so, Comrade General Chin is wrong—the American president Martindale will
send in his carriers,” Sun went on. “Two of them are within four days’ steaming
time to
Taiwan
, and within two weeks a third will join them. The U.S. government
claims that the three carriers will rendezvous somewhere in the Philippine Sea
for what they term a ‘photo opportunity,’ because one of the carriers
supposedly will be decommissioned, but we all know that these carriers are
rendezvousing to set up an attack on our homeland. They will set up east of
Taiwan so they can take advantage of air defense protection from Taiwan and
appear not to be concerned about events in China, but close enough so they can
conduct air attacks on our ships and land bases if war breaks out. We must not
blindly cruise within range of the Americans’ carrier-based attack planes.
Instead, we must draw the carriers toward
us.

 
          
“The
key to victory over the Americans is contained in the words of Sun-tzu: we must
draw their carriers away from the protection of the Nationalists’ air defense
forces and into ‘fatal terrain’—that is, a battleground where they must be
unconquerable, where they must fight with reckless abandon and complete
disregard for any protest against the campaign, or face total defeat. In order
to draw them into fatal terrain, we must force them to come to the rescue or
force them to intervene with the thought of preventing a conflict. That
conflict is
Taiwan
, comrades. In the confines of the Strait, we can destroy the carriers.
At the same time, we strike at the most likely resupply and air staging base in
the area:
Okinawa
. Once
Okinawa
is destroyed, American forces will be
forced to stage out of the heart of
Japan
, and so the threat to
Japan
becomes clear—”

 
          
“You
speak in double-talk, Sun,” General Chin shouted. “You talk about dancing
around the American carriers, but then talk about a full frontal assault on
Okinawa
. How do you expect to destroy one of the
Americans’ strongest bases, comrade?”

 
          
Without
one change in his expression or voice, Admiral Sun said matter-of-factly, “We
should by all means use our nuclear arsenal.”

 
          
The
reaction was swift and powerful—and all of it against Sun. President Jiang
called for order, and his command was echoed by the sergeant-at-arms and his
officers. Jiang said crossly, “Admiral Sun, you are to be reprimanded once
again for your impertinence and ignorance. It is obvious you are not familiar
with the Party’s policy on the use of nuclear, chemical, or biological
weapons.”

 
          
“If
I may speak, sir—I am very familiar with the Communist Party’s policy,” Sun said.
“The government of
China
and the Chinese Communist Party officially
rejects the first use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons because it
conflicts with the ideals of peaceful unification of all the peoples of the
world under socialism. I studied the policy towards the use of special weapons
in both the
National
Academy
and the
College
of
War
, and advised the office of the premier on
its implementation.”