“Is well planned and ready for execution, without the added complication of the Sukhoi-27 fighters,” Qian said confidently. “They can always be brought north in case they are needed, but with a six-to-one numerical advantage in fighters now, along with the carrier Mao’s fleet of Sukhoi-33 fighters, we feel the carrier is well-protected and we can destroy any opposition from Kaohsiung. A little danger is to be expected, my young friend — you cannot summon every rifle or every jet you wish. The plan has been formulated to concentrate necessary strength on defeating the rebels without sacrificing security or strategic balance in other areas of our vast nation. Please continue, comrade…”
“Perhaps you do not understand, Comrade General,” Sun said. “The National Assembly of the rebel Nationalist government on Taiwan has just voted to amend their constitution to declare themselves independent and sovereign from the mainland.”
Colonel Lieutenant Ai Peijian appeared to be a bit confused. Since no one else was speaking, he said, “Permit me to speak, sir, but why is this such shocking news? The rebels have been thinking they can be independent from us for a long time.”
“But now they’ve declared it to the world! ” Sun shouted. “They have put it in their constitution! They have dared to declare that there are two Chinas, separate and equal! Equal! To us? How dare they! How dare they do such a thing!”
“It is meaningless, sir,” Colonel Ai said, still unsure as to why Sun was so angry. “The world knows it is not true. It is like a bug declaring it is equal to the elephant. The world knows that eventually the rebel government will be overthrown and the province of Taiwan will return to the People’s—” “The world knows, does it? The world knows?” Sun interrupted, suddenly stopping his furious pacing. “You did not hear the rest of the news, then, Comrade Coloneclass="underline" It is expected that the governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and many others will formally recognize the new Republic of China within the coming days. Intelligence reports that a new American embassy will open in Taipei within the week. It is also estimated that the United States will petition for permanent membership for the Nationalists in the United Nations. It will be a simple majority vote— our country cannot block membership with a veto.”
“No… it cannot be,” General Qian muttered. He got to his feet, his hands still shaking. “This demands an immediate response. This cannot be!”
“We shall establish contact with the general staff immediately,” Sun said. “Comrade General, you must convene your operations staff and be prepared to execute the war orders immediately. ”
“Execute… the… war… orders!” Colonel Ai sputtered. “You mean, we are at war with the Nationalists?”
“You thought all this was a joke, Colonel?” Sun shouted angrily. “You thought none of this could really happen, that you would be somewhere else, doing something else? I am going to recommend that this plan be put into operation immediately! Within forty-eight hours, Colonel, I expect to be standing on the remains of the rebels’ capital, walking over the bodies of the rebels’ so-called ‘sovereign’ legislature.
“But first, I must figure out a way to fix your incompetence in amending the war plans so our attack will be successful,” Sun Ji Guoming thundered. “What do you think of the plan now, Colonel? What if I put you on the first landing craft that rolls across the beachhead at Kaohsiung? Would you brief the plan the same, knowing that it was your ass that would be the first to face the remnants of the Nationalist forces that were supposed to be destroyed? Tell me, Colonel! ” He suddenly swung on the aged general. “Tell me, General! How is the plan shaping up now? Perhaps I should nominate you to lead the invasion force! ”
“Have a care, Comrade Admiral,” Qian said, but in a panicked, squeaky voice. “You are on the verge of insubordination.”
“And what about the Americans, Colonel?” Sun Ji Guoming said, his voice rising in absolute frustration. “Your time line extends out to thirty days — but it will not take the Americans more than one day to respond. Their fighters from Okinawa have the range to engage our fighters in the northern sector; their fighters with their air refueling can protect their sub hunters and anti-ship attack planes. And that is before one of their carriers arrives to begin a counteroffensive. What forces do you propose to use when that begins?”
“The Americans would not risk a carrier during the initial thrust against the rebels,” Ai Peijian argued. “The Military Intelligence Department reports that if the Americans do decide to engage, it will be well after the initial thrust.”
“I am referring to the land-based forces on Okinawa, comrade,” Sun said. “American navy, marines, air forces — it seems the Americans have as many planes on Okinawa as Taiwan has in their entire fleet! If they commit those forces, all our forces arrayed against the northern half of Taiwan could be in jeopardy. If they get control of the skies and bring in their P-3 sub-chasers, all of our submarine fleet in the Formosa Strait and East China Sea could be in jeopardy. What will you do if—?”
“Comrade Admiral,” General Qian interjected wearily, “you are raving. Be silent.”
“Why not just destroy Okinawa, Comrade Colonel?” Sun Ji Guoming said, ignoring the generals admonition. “That would eliminate one of the biggest threats to our forces committed to the Taiwan battle. Destroy Okinawa, destroy Kunsan, South Korea, and we push the Americans back to the 135th meridian, out of range of their medium attack planes. If the Japanese refuse to allow American forces to stage attacks against us from their bases, we can then push the Americans back to Guam. Destroy Guam — one DF-5 long-range ballistic missile fired from Changsha, or one sea-launched ballistic missile fired from the Xia, our nuclear submarine — and we push the Americans back to the other side of the International Date Line. They would not even be fighting on the same day as us! We could then—”
“You… you are talking about using nuclear weapons, Admiral?” General Qian gasped. “You know that the Chinese Communist Party has officially stated that the People’s Liberation Army will not use nuclear weapons first in any conflict?”
“Using nuclear weapons would be much better than relying on false and misleading war plans such as these to retake what is rightfully ours! ” Admiral Sun shouted, sweeping his copy of the war plans onto the floor. “We are doomed to failure unless we commit ourselves to using every weapon in our arsenal.”
“That is quite enough, Comrade Admiral,” Qian interjected sternly. “The war plans do not call for the use of nuclear weapons against our own province — may I remind you that the island of Formosa is our territory, our twenty-third province — and it does not call for using nuclear weapons against the Americans, South Koreans, Japanese, or anyone else. I think this news has unsettled you. You appear to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.” And that was the end of the discussion.
This was a travesty, Sun Ji Guoming thought, as the others filed out of the conference room — for all he cared, the war plans didn’t exist. China was completely unprepared for what had just happened and what was about to happen.