Admiral Qin Chung had been awake in this Beijing command center most of the night monitoring the situation. His PLA(N) combatants were hours away from both groups of Americans. The American surface group off the Philippines had fired on a Chinese cutter, and the carrier group was tracking his aircraft with fire control radars and flying their airplanes without permission. He had to be careful; the unpredictable American cowboys could pick off individual ships and shoot down individual airplanes with relative ease. If Qin massed his forces, it would not only take time to accomplish but could also be viewed as a threat by the Yankees who could turn and strike his vessels from hundreds of miles away. He had to track American movements from afar while maneuvering his forces to attack if Marshal Dong commanded it. He was aided by natural island chain chokepoints that would funnel the Americans into areas workable for search and ambush.
He did have one asset in position. A Shang attack submarine, nuclear-powered, was patrolling in deep water east of Taiwan. Without generating too much noise, it could move southwest and be in position to intercept and track the carrier if the Americans blasted through the 60-mile opening between Little Lanyu Island and Mavudis Island. The intercept would occur at nightfall. Qin gave the order: Intercept and track USS John Adams.
The American cruiser and the destroyer, despite their demonstrated willingness to fire on Chinese vessels, would have to be given a wider berth. Militia fishing vessels scattered on the seas almost everywhere would fish in a normal manner and report American movements to his PLA(N) operations cell.
The western media was feeding their citizens wild stories of a brazen Chinese attack using illegal chemical weapons. Preposterous! Qin knew the PRC would never be so foolish as to attack an American ship in such a clumsy manner, even if that ship were passing through waters belonging to China. Little generated world condemnation faster than first-use of chemical and biological weapons. While in the South China Sea, foreign warships, even American—even the hated Japanese! — were afforded visitor status, and the Americans had complied with PRC diplomatic clearance requirements. Same with their carrier in Hong Kong. Now, the Americans were acting aggressively “inside the wire” of the PRC.
As Qin read the operations report, his aide knocked on the open door.
“Comrade Admiral, Comrade Marshal Dong is calling you, secure.”
Qin picked up the phone and was put through.
“Admiral Qin… I have some troubling news,” Dong began.
“Yes, Comrade Marshal.”
“Yesterday a secret operation was carried out by the People’s Fishing Militia in Chinese waters near the Philippines. An agent was delivered upwind of Filipino fisherman poaching People’s Republic fish near the Zhongsha Islands.”
“An agent, Comrade Marshal?”
“A nerve agent; it causes the lungs to fill, and the victim dies… in minutes. Seconds. I’ve seen the demonstration on live prisoners awaiting execution.” Qin listened as Dong continued.
“The agent worked as planned, and the poachers were killed. It would have been a perfect operation, but the visibility was poor, and they did not see the American ship.”
“Is the ship the cruiser that turned off course?” Qin asked.
“I’m afraid, yes.”
Qin was incredulous. We did this! he thought. And why didn’t the militia warn the PLA(N)? The Foreign Ministry? Did the Coast Guard know? Do the Americans know the truth? Qin shuddered when he thought of how he would react if he were in Washington.
“We must keep this knowledge to ourselves, Comrade Admiral. I have taken steps to arrest the boat crew and the militia officials who authorized this attack. We will deal with the world media. Your job is to track the American ships and planes in the near seas. We will disavow knowledge, and it is actually true the PLA had no knowledge or approval of this action.”
“Comrade Marshal, why now?”
“In a land of 1.3 billion we cannot control everyone at all times. Mistakes were made… we are only human. We are not yet ready to face the Americans, but they are going to come and exact revenge. We — and you, in particular, Comrade Admiral — must demonstrate a competent and lethal force and be ready to repel them once they complete their long journey across the ocean.”
“The Navy will defend the People’s Republic to the last, and Washington will regret the blood they are about to shed in a cause they cannot win,” said Qin.
“Yes, and this warrants a show-of-force. You can expect Heaven’s Shield to be deployed for the first time ever.”
“Heaven’s Shield! I thought the full capability was over one year away.”
“The scientists and production engineers were directed to redouble their efforts and complete production on every machine in the line so the full shield can be employed. We’ll have 90 percent coverage, 80 percent minimum.” Qin remained skeptical.
“Has it been compromised like so many of our weapons?”
“Like so many of theirs, you mean? We do not believe it has been, and the launch sites are far inland in Hunan and Sichuan. The Americans cannot reach them without manned aircraft we can shoot down, or intercontinental ballistic missiles they dare not send. Once the shield is in place, we can operate with an added degree of comfort. We will be protected, and they will bleed all the more.”
“Please let me know when this plan is employed, Comrade Marshal.”
“We will, Admiral Qin. Again, the shield is untried and there may be gaps. I fear for our sea approaches coming up from Malacca. We must bolster them.”
“Our island reclamations are ahead of schedule, and we have full capability at our bastion outpost that can cover the Southern Sea all the way to Malacca.” Qin spoke with authority.
“Please forgive my lack of knowledge on naval matters. What is this island fortress called, Comrade Admiral?”
“Shuwhen Island, Comrade Marshal. The barbarians know it as Blood Moon Atoll.”
CHAPTER 7
“Set your depth at 20 meters. Helm, ahead dead slow,” Shen Ju-Lang spoke in the quiet control room.
“Set depth at 20 meters, aye, comrade captain! Engine indicating revolutions for dead slow!”
Zhong Xiao Shen was the captain of Changzheng 8, one of six Shang-class attack submarines in the PLA(N). As his crewmen pulled back on the dive plane controls and adjusted ballast, he thought about the sonar contacts to the southwest. Several ships, big and loud, were moving at high speed through the Luzon Strait — and right to him. He was in the drift phase of his sprint-and-drift, and, once stabilized at two knots, would raise the scope for a look. His quarry was probably still outside ten miles.
The barked commands of his Conning Officer annoyed him. With the crew on edge — news of an eminent American attack and the need to intercept traveled the length of the 300-foot boat in minutes — he needed to keep them focused and quiet. He knew he could not win a prolonged cat-and-mouse contest with the Americans. Besides their destroyers and attack subs, their fearsome Romeo helicopters had dipping sonar and torpedoes that could be dropped on his head with no warning. He had to stay silent; the Americans with their aircraft could have laid a buoy field ahead of him, or worse a Virginia class attack boat could be lying in wait… or following in his baffles.