"It depends on which side of the fence you're on."
"What account do you believe is the truth?"
"My version."
"And what version would that be?"
Scott opened the passenger door and got in. "Well, there was a great deal of underhandedness involved in the Panama Canal debacle, including the undeniable fact that Panama never ratified its treaty as required by the Panamanian Constitution."
Jackie started the car, and then lowered the convertible top to drink in the sunshine and fragrant air. She placed the car in gear and headed for the nearby Honolulu Airport Hotel to have breakfast and coffee.
"Furthermore, the treaty was not submitted to the Panamanian people for a plebiscite vote, as required by law. It was illegally pushed through the process — a fraudulent treaty pursued to a successful conclusion by the virtual dictator of Panama."
Scott glanced upward toward the Likelike (lick-e, lick-e) Highway and took in the breathtakingly lush mountains that make up Oahu's Koolau Range.
"At any rate, the Panamanians and the U.S. are now paying a very steep price for our surrender of one of the most important geostrategic maritime choke points in the world."
"Yeah, that treaty was a real soup-sandwich. Inept politicians and corrupt tinhorn dictators — they're mostly interchangeable."
"I can't argue that point," Scott said. "From a national-security interest, turning over control of the canal will prove to be one of the worst mistakes in U.S. history."
Scott glanced at a Falcon 900 corporate jet as it climbed steeply away from Honolulu International. "La Prensa says more than sixty percent of Panamanians favor some form of U.S. military presence."
"I can believe it. They've finally figured out how vulnerable they are to outside factions — the ones who would like to take complete control of Panama."
"Someday," he said with a smile, "Panama may invite the Yankees back to stabilize the economy and the environment — same with the Philippines."
"Yeah, they're singing a different tune now," Jackie said. "Two of the Philippine senators who voted to kick the U.S. military out in '92 later reversed themselves — that must have been a humbling experience. Now they want us back to protect their vital interests."
"Another fine example of brilliant decision making by totally incompetent politicians. One of those senators is now the president of the country — a really scary thought — and the other is the secretary of national defense. Think about it."
"I know," Jackie said with a fleeting look. "Unbelievable, but true — the wizards who oversee the Philippines."
He surveyed the lush tropical plants and exotic flowers along the road. "After the Filipinos kicked us out of Subic Bay and Clark Air Force Base, the Chinese moved rapidly to fill the power vacuum in the South China Sea. They claimed part of the Spratly Archipelago that parallels Asia's most important air and shipping lanes."
Jackie slowed and turned into the parking lot at the hotel.
Scott unbuckled his seat belt. "Beijing is becoming more and more belligerent to the Filipinos — to everyone in Southeast Asia — and it wouldn't take much for the entire region to erupt in open warfare."
"Hey, give it a rest," Jackie said. "Aloha, mai tai — and all of that island lingo. You're in Hawaii — safely — and we're going to enjoy every minute we have together."
He broke into a wide grin. "You're damn right — can the problems. Let's get this party under way."
Also known as the Formosa ("Beautiful") Strait, the Taiwan Strait is about a hundred miles wide at its narrowest point and lies between the coast of China's Fujian Province and the island of Taiwan. Located in a notorious and deadly typhoon zone, the strait extends from the South China Sea northeast to the East China Sea. It reaches a maximum depth of approximately 230 feet and encompasses the Pescadores ("Fishermen") Islands, which are considered a hsien (county) under the jurisdiction of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
The drama and tension being played out on and over the strait was rapidly increasing. The sporadic air-traffic-control system over the Taiwan Strait was having an adverse effect on everyone. Foreign pilots and U.S. pilots, both civilian and military, were in agreement about the lack of an ATC capability. It was the proverbial accident waiting to happen. The problem was made even more difficult by the growing number of fighter planes, aerial tankers, helicopters, and surveillance aircraft in the confined area.
Even the notices on the aeronautical Operational Navigation Charts covering the strait were ominous:
WARNING — AIRCRAFT
INFRINGING UPON NONFREE FLYING TERRITORY MAY BE FIRED ON WITHOUT WARNING. CONSULT NOTAMS AND FLIGHT INFORMATION PUBLICATIONS FOR THE LATEST AIR INFORMATION.
Mainland Chinese jets had buzzed the Ma-kung Naval Base, located on the Taiwanese island of Penghu. Chinese torpedo patrol boats and the destroyer Luhai were loitering near the Taiwanese-controlled islands of Matsu and Quemoy.
In addition to the strained relations in the strait, Beijing and Taipei officials had ordered their combat pilots to fly closer to each other's shoreline than had been allowed in the past.
In response to the Chinese pilots' extremely aggressive moves toward a Taiwan C-130H transport, including a head-on pass from a frontline Sukhoi Su-27 fighter-interceptor, the Taiwanese F-5s and F-16s were flying almost over the shoreline of the Chinese province of Fujian.
The USS Kitty Hawk and her battle group were northeast of the Taiwan Strait at a point halfway between Taipei, Taiwan, and Naha, Okinawa. Flanked by her escorts Cowpens, Rodney M. Davis, Fife, Curts, and the hunter/killer attack submarine USS Greeneville, the carrier had four BARCAP (barrier combat air patrol) F-18 Hornets between the flattop and the coast of China.
The Hornets were flying a racetrack pattern outside the Asian Coastal Buffer Zone east of Songcheng and Fuzhou. They would be refueled twice before being relieved on station and returning to the carrier. F-14 Tomcats would take their place as the BARCAP continued around the clock.
Two other Alert Five Hornets were manned and ready for launch. High above the Hawk, an E-2C Hawkeye was airborne and keeping a watchful eye on the Chinese and Taiwanese fighter pilots.
Shortly after 3:00 A. M. a Taiwanese Air Force captain and his wingman flew their F-16s low over Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province. Enraged by the aggressive act, the senior PLA officer in charge of eight antiaircraft artillery sites scattered around the perimeter of Fuzhou ordered them to open fire on the encroaching jets.
The wingman's F-16 was hit and went out of control, trailing fire and black smoke. He attempted to eject, but his parachute hadn't fully deployed when he slammed into the Min Chiang River alongside his blazing fighter. The flight leader escaped by flying at rooftop level over the neighboring town of Luozhou and safely returned to his base.
Space-based assets, reconnaissance aircraft, and the E-2C Hawk-eye witnessed the episode. The information was immediately sent to the Pentagon, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and the White House.
Less than an hour later DengJu-shan, a Chinese military ship disguised as a modern freighter, got a radar lock on the Hawkeye. A bright bluish-white object slashed past the E-2C a number of times, made a sweeping turn, and went straight over the Hawkeye a split second before a bright flash startled the pilots.
The starboard engine of the E-2C burst into flames and the wing failed between the engine and the fuselage. The flight crew, pinned into their seats by excessive G-forces, never had a chance to bail out. The aircraft tightly spun into the strait fifty-five miles due west of Taipei, Taiwan.
With both reconnaissance aircraft and spacecraft observing, there was no doubt about the cause of the crash. The laser beam that lasted 1.7 seconds came from the deck of Deng ju-shan. The evidence was undeniable. Beijing would be held responsible for destroying the Hawkeye and killing the entire flight crew.