Dancing with the Dragon (2002) (37 page)

From three directions, without even wavering, the eleven Sukhoi-27s merged on Fresco 53 and flew straight past the six U. S. fighters. The brief but violent clash initially cost the Chinese three aircraft and the air force an F-16 Viper, Razorback Two.

When an errant missile flew past his EC-130H, Burlingame banked the Hercules seventy degrees to the left and pulled two Gs. Seconds later, he unloaded the Gs and rolled the big plane to the right and lowered the nose to quickly build airspeed.

With such a concentrated attack on Fresco 53, it was only a matter of time before the giant turboprop would succumb to the assault. When bursts of 23mm rounds began ripping into the left wing, Burlingame rolled wings level at close to four hundred knots and then rolled the aircraft to the right and began pulling Gs. He unloaded the G-forces and violently leveled the wings, then abruptly pulled the nose up in a desperate attempt to save his crew.

A startled Chinese fighter pilot who was inverted and pulling into the Hercules reacted a half second too late. The Sukhoi-27 slammed into the top of Fresco-53's cockpit, causing a huge explosion that severed the nose from the rest of the fuselage. The wounded Hercules continued upward and over on its back, falling off the top of the perch into an inverted flat spin that sent it plunging into the Strait of Taiwan.

After the fur ball was over, China had lost five fighter planes and the United States was short three planes, including the EC-130H and her crew.

Chapter
25.

USS Kitty Hawk Battle Group

At 0905 hours the carrier's escorts, the cruiser USS Cowpens and the destroyer USS Fife, joined by the attack submarines SSN Greeneville and SSN Seawolf, began launching Tomahawk missiles at seven Chinese missile launch sites located deep in the Province of Jiangxi.

Escorts from the Roosevelt battle group followed with a second round of Tomahawks at 0914. Eight minutes later, the attack submarines SSN Columbia and SSN Asheville launched more Tomahawks at the Chinese missile sites and storage facilities between Shangrao and Ningdu.

In a matter of minutes, U. S. cruise missiles coming from various directions would be raining on China's missile infrastructure and selected satellite launch centers located in Jiuquan, Taiyuan, and Xichang.

At 0950, three B-52 bombers from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, launched a total of six conventional cruise missiles from a position over the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippine island of Luzon. Seven minutes later, two other B-52 crews launched their cruise missiles at missile facilities at Tai-Hang and Wuzhai and then turned toward Guam.

Space-based assets immediately confirmed that the seven Chinese launch pads would not be used anytime in the near future, at least not for firing ballistic missiles over Taiwan. The destruction at the sites was complete and devastating.

F-14s and F/A-18s from Kitty Hawk and Roosevelt were flying barrier combat air patrol over the Taiwan Strait while everyone anxiously waited to see what would happen at the emergency meeting of the ASEAN countries.

Bangkok, Thailand

In an extraordinary reaction to security concerns, and to the certainty of violent anti-American demonstrations by groups opposed to President Macklin's visit, the Thailand government strongly recommended changes in the president's schedule and activities.

The senior Thai officials feared not only for Macklin but his entire staff, his Secret Service agents, and the traveling press, who had no protection from the extremely militant demonstrators. The government spokesman had made it frighteningly clear to the Secret Service that the potential for a disaster was extremely high. The Thai authorities informed senior U. S. officials about the thousands of e-mail threats made against the president.

Responding to the warning, the Secret Service convinced President Macklin that the ASEAN meeting and the summit with Chinese president Liu Fan-ding should be restricted to the hotel. With tensions rising by the minute between the United States and China, the special agents didn't want the president to be exposed to rowdy crowds or possible traffic jams. The environment was just too unpredictable, the odds of something happening in a motorcade too great, to leave anything to chance.

Before Macklin left Washington, a meeting room in the Dusit Thani that was capable of accommodating two thousand people was converted to a palatial conference room that reflected traditional Thai influences.

An informal lunch hosted by the original ten countries that founded ASEAN was boycotted by the Chinese delegation after news of the U. S.-China military confrontation flashed throughout the world. To the leaders of ASEAN nations, it was another ominous sign of things to come.

The official gathering in the meeting room turned frosty when President Liu Fan-ding, wearing a bland dark-gray Mao-style suit, and his aides entered the large room. Gone was the Western-style suit and tie. Also missing was the constant rubbery smile and self-deprecating jokes that had been his persona during his first visit to Washington, D. C.

The always smiling, overanimated Liu Fan-ding at the White House state dinner was now the scowling, crimson-faced communist dictator of Red China. This was the man who had recently stood on a stage in the Forbidden City and promised more than six hundred thousand Chinese that he would make China powerful beyond their dreams.

To solidify his own immortality and legacy, he vowed to reunify Taiwan with the motherland and blasted America's post-cold-war dominance of military power and money. After the rambling speech, Liu watched thousands of military men and female civil militia troops goose-step across Tiananmen Square.

Later the Chinese president beamed as four Dong Feng-31 solid-fuel ICBMs rolled past the hushed crowd, while helicopters and a formation of Su-27 fighters screamed low overhead. The Dong Feng (East Wind) ballistic missile had the range to reach American shores.

Within hours of the speech and the military parade, President Liu Fan-ding was quoted in the People's Liberation Army Daily as saying, "The Macklin Administration is trying to intimidate China and her people. I will teach the intimidators in Washington a tough lesson."

When he finished introducing the panel members, the gracious host of the Thailand delegation somberly introduced the American secretary of state. Throughout the huge room, there was the sense of an impending disaster that they knew would doom the summit.

Wearing one of his usual rumpled, oversized suits, Brett Shannon rose from his chair and walked to the elevated podium. Known to be a man who never minced words, the portly Shannon shoved his eyeglasses up and stared for a few seconds at the large audience. His job was to make a broad statement about the reason for the emergency summit and then leave the howitzer shells to the president.

Secretary Shannon, a man who almost never laughed and seldom smiled, gave Liu Fan-ding an icy look and then cast his gaze over the anxious ASEAN members.

"We are gathered here today," Shannon began in a rich baritone voice that cut through the damp air, "because China is at a crossroad in her long and sometimes troubled history. After more than fifty years of Mao's revolution and more than twenty years of reform, it's time for the Chinese people to make a decision about their future. The path she elects to take will have a profound impact on all of us, including our friends from Taiwan. As the younger generation clamors for the downfall of communism, the dictators in Beijing must increasingly play the role of politicians to the masses of Chinese people."

The startled translator was trying to water down the rhetoric, but the message was clearly registering with the irate Chinese president.

"The other side of the coin is a treacherousjourney of placating the communist hard-liners who are becoming dinosaurs in the postideological era. At some point Beijing must become a welcome and responsible member of the world community--as Taiwan is--or China will return to the past."

The growing sense of uneasiness was pervasive.

"If China remains closed to the world, her economy will slowly crumble and evaporate her aspirations of ever becoming a great power. It's the autocrats' choice, but time is running out on the decomposing remains of the communist system. Communism is a failed experiment on our planet, a sad relic of yesteryear."

Liu Fan-ding was livid when he rose to address the American secretary of state. "I am warning you," the translator said with a startled look, "that any more harping on China or Taiwan or how we run our country will lead to an armed conflict!"

The piercing vocal threat to the United States caused a loud buzz throughout the meeting room. Before Shannon had a chance to respond, President Macklin rose and walked to the podium.

"I'll take it from here," the president said as he gently patted Shannon on the shoulder.

"President Fan-ding, we're already in an armed conflict with your country. As for Taiwan, the United States stands firm in our resolve to defend a valued ally. You and the other leaders in Communist China are on notice that any attempt to take over Taiwan by force will be met with overwhelming resistance. You and your colleagues should come to your senses before bombs and missiles take the place of diplomacy and statesmanship."

The antagonistic Chinese leader bristled and said something under his breath to an aide.

Macklin cast a glance at two staff members who were prepared to show the visual aids he had brought with him.

The American president looked unusually relaxed and calm. "I'm going to show our friends in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations why we're concerned about China's goals and ambitions. Let's have exhibit number one."

On a large easel, they placed a huge reproduction of a photograph taken by a U. S. space-based asset.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at a laser beam emitting from a civilian Chinese cargo ship, the Chen Ziyang, which was retrofitted to carry the laser weapon. We also have video of the laser beam when it was fired at a U. S. plane flying near the coast of California."

"This is American hoax," Liu said bluntly. "Nothing but trick to make China look bad!"

Silence filled the cavernous room.

"Gentlemen, let's skip number two and three and move on to number four," Macklin instructed in an even voice.

The enlarged photos were placed on the easel.

"Here we have a set of four photos taken on board the Chen Ziyang, the civilian ship in question."

Liu Fan-ding turned ashen-faced. He started mumbling something unintelligible to a staff member.

In a steady, calm voice, President Macklin continued. "We know from the Chinese writing on the laser weapon and in the control room, plus the Chinese sailor smiling in the pictures, that the photos are real."

Macklin paused and stared straight at the Chinese leader. "President Liu Fan-ding knows it too."

"Lies--all lies! American trickery and lies!" Liu said acidly. He rose and turned on his heel to leave. "These are all lies to diminish China's sovereignty in the eyes of world leaders!" he said to the American president as he left the room.

Stunned silent at first, many of the ASEAN members turned to each other. After the Chinese delegation stormed out of the conference room, the concerned ASEAN members began talking.

Macklin raised his arms to quiet the shocked leaders and their assorted entourages. "Ladies and gentlemen, please be calm. Those who are standing, please take your seats."

Hartwell Prost leaned close to Brett Shannon. "Well, that was certainly handled smoothly."

"Short and to the point was what the president wanted." Shannon calmly gathered his papers. "At least the world will get to see what Beijing has been up to."

"Yes, and we better go to a higher alert status."

"We're already there."

The President's Suite

Dark wood paneling, elegant silk upholstered furnishings, and authentic Thai art pieces and paintings by local artists decorated the plush suite. The lavish bar was fully stocked with top-of-the-line spirits, and fresh fruit and colorful flowers adorned the sitting room.

The ASEAN summit had been salvaged, for the most part, when President Macklin presented all the facts and information about China's secret laser weapons and what Beijing had been doing with them.

He had also explained to the delegation about the Panama Canal and its current status under U. S. control. The Chinese military forces had been completely disarmed by elements of the U. S. Army and the U. S. Marine Corps while air force, navy, and Marine fighter planes orbited overhead. The Chinese officers and their troops were now incarcerated in seven holding pens awaiting transportation home.

The vast majority of leaders from the ASEAN countries agreed to join together in trying to diplomatically persuade President Liu Fan-ding to stand down from military operations in or near the Strait of Taiwan. They secretly prayed that President Macklin would temper his approach to China, but no one wanted to antagonize the most powerful nation in the world. No ASEAN leader openly wanted to voice the suggestion.

After a formal but subdued dinner and a short play by a Taiwanese touring company, Macklin and his closest confidants gathered in the president's suite.

Drinks were poured and cigars lighted when a senior military aide to Macklin was hurriedly ushered into the elegant room. The officer conferred with the president for about five minutes, answered a few questions from Macklin, and then quietly left the suite.