Once additional farming equipment and proper infrastructure were developed in Myanmar, the country would be able to provide up to 11 % of China’s demand for rice and 14 % of its demand for other agricultural products. Myanmar would also provide China with a seaport on the Indian Ocean, greatly shortening the transportation time of moving goods to and from Europe.
As the group finished discussing the situation in Myanmar, General Wei moved on to the next slide in his presentation, which showed a map of Laos, a fellow communist country. Unlike Myanmar, Laos had a souring relationship with Vietnam. Throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, Vietnam had both invaded and then occupied parts of Laos. It was not until the late 1990s that Vietnam had fully withdrawn its forces from the country.
General Wei explained, “As you know, the People’s Republic of China has spent the better part of the last seven years developing enhanced economic relations with Laos. The commitments we’ve made there to increased foreign aid and economic development seem to be paying off. We implemented the same strategy with Laos as we did with Myanmar in terms of offering to pay any Laotian armed forces that are cooperative in Chinese Yuan. We also bribed key senior military and political officials there when we found a holdout or it was needed to smooth the transition.”
General Wei nodded in acknowledgement towards Foreign Minister Yong. “Our compatriot here also spoke with key state officials in Laos to make it clear that once Laos was successfully annexed, all of its foreign debts to China would be forgiven and its other international debts would be taken care of by the People’s Republic.”
“So, how is the military advancement going there, given these enticements?” asked a more cantankerous advisor.
“The 12th Army moved throughout the country unhindered, and has secured their armed forces. We have encountered virtually no resistance to the annexation there. The rest of the Laotian government should be fully integrated over the coming weeks. Once the military actions are complete, both Laos and Myanmar will become provinces of China; the leaders of each respective country will remain in power as long as they support the authority of the Chinese government. As soon as these countries come under the umbrella of our authority, we will all begin to benefit; our Minister of Agriculture is confident that his department will be able to start integrating Laos’ food production into our economy starting next week.”
The various advisors and political officials in the room all nodded, happy with every word that had just come out of General Wei’s mouth.
Then the next slide in the presentation came up, and a collective groan could be heard. Even the stoic men before him could not help but express some frustration at the sight of a map of Vietnam.
China and Vietnam had had a troubled relationship since the end of the American war with Vietnam in the mid-1970s. Soon after that conflict, Vietnam interfered in Laos, and since China maintained close political ties with Laos, they invaded Vietnam to “teach them a lesson.” That military incursion lasted for several years and resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Chinese army. The Vietnamese had become extremely battle-hardened after fighting the French and the United States. They were also militarily backed up by the Soviet Union, which provided them with numerous military advisors and also a significant amount of military equipment. The result was a drawn-out war that resulted in the PLA being humiliated at the hands of a much smaller nation.
The PLA had an axe to grind against Vietnam, especially since their country had somehow managed to thaw their relationship with the US and were actively considering allowing the US to build a naval base in their country. Vietnam had also laid claim to the Spratly Islands, which were clearly part of China and held vast oil and natural gas reserves. General Wei was not at all surprised by the change of mood in the room.
Wei glanced at the slide; the picture was not pleasant. Unlike Myanmar and Laos, several regions of Vietnam were bogged down in heavy fighting. He took a deep breath before he began. “Mr. President, we invaded Vietnam with the forces from the Southern Theater of Operations, led by General Yang. We bolstered his army group with 100,000 militia forces. Because of this, our army has been able to capture Hanoi and the surrounding area in less than two weeks. Our airborne forces have secured the critical port area of Hai Phong, which will allow us to better supply our military there and bring in additional ground forces.”
He then moved to a slide that showed the southern half of Vietnam. “The PLAN was able to offload their naval infantry to secure the coastal cities of Huế and Da Nang. We also landed a substantial force not far from Ho Chi Minh City, which they should secure by the end of next week. Our three carriers have been providing exceptional air support to the naval infantry, and proven they can operate as an effective combined air, land, and naval force.” As he spoke proudly about the achievements of the PLAN, its leader (who was seated several seats away) swelled with pride.
President Xi smiled. “Congratulations are in order to Vice Admiral Ning Sheng, I see. Your efforts to modernize our navy and turn it into a fully integrated combined arms force have clearly been very fruitful.”
The President turned to the Commander of the Chinese Air Force, General Xu Ding, and asked, “How have our new aircraft and bombers been performing in Vietnam?”
General Xu smiled proudly. “The Chengdu J-20 has performed beyond our expectations. During the opening hours of the war, it successfully shot down 12 Vietnamese fighters that attempted to interdict our airborne forces. It has continued to provide exceptional air superiority over Vietnam, shooting down another 14 aircraft.”
He switched over to a couple of his own slides to discuss some of the assessments they had conducted during the war. “We were able to successfully test the effectiveness of several of our naval cruise missiles from the Xian H-6 bomber. These missiles are now going to go into full production. We also tested several air-to-ground stand-off cruise missiles and guided munitions with the bomber as well. This was critical as this was the first time we were able to see how a number of our missile and bomb platforms would perform during a live combat scenario. This combat drill also proved that we can effectively engage and sink a foreign naval force with our anti-ship cruise missiles.” As he spoke, he showed several images of the H-6 firing a variety of different missile platforms.
Before he concluded, a devilish smile curled up on the left side of his face. “Unbeknownst to the West and the rest of the world, we also successfully tested the H-20, our subsonic stealth bomber that has some similar characteristics to the American B-2 Spirit. The H-20 penetrated the Vietnamese airspace undetected during the opening hours of the incursion and carried out a series of strikes. We have continued to test various bombing tactics and ordinance with the H-20 in Vietnam and believe we have identified the few remaining flaws in the system. If we need to use it against the Americans, we now know it’ll be effective.”
Setting the Trap
Captain Yuri Popov drank his coffee, lost for a moment in his thoughts. “I still can’t believe that I’m here,” he marveled. “I had hoped that cooler heads would prevail, and we could not go to war, but now that our brothers in the Black Sea have sunk an American Supercarrier, we might actually have a chance at winning. The American Navy has the best equipment and technology that money can buy, but if we could sink one of their Supercarriers, maybe they aren’t as good as everyone thought that they were… Well, if the Black Sea fleet could sink a carrier, then surely our little wolfpack can sink a few freighters in the Atlantic.”