“It’s never been verified as far as I know, sir,” Stone replied, “just like we never verify that American warships carry nukes. But it’s a well-known fact that EF5-class destroyers carry at least two Fei Lung-9 antiship cruise missiles with RK-55 warheads — twenty-kiloton yield. I can’t believe the Chinese would actually cook one off, though.”
“Do the Filipinos have nuclear weapons?” Stanczek asked.
“Not to my knowledge, sir,” Stone replied. “We had some nuclear weapons stockpiled at Clark for a few years, but they were removed years ago.”
“Could they have built a weapon of their own? Are they advanced enough to do that?”
“I’m surprised there was a Philippine Navy out there for a nuke to destroy,” Stone said. “Everything they have is at least twenty to fifty years old, and most of it is World War Two vintage. As far as weaponry, they have Sea Lance and Harpoon missiles, but nothing more potent than that. No, they couldn’t have built a nuclear device.”
Stone could see Tyler shaking his head in amazement at the news, and it was then that he began to get a real feeling for the pressure that was on Tyler and his staff right now. In a few minutes the President of the United States was going to get on the line with Tyler and ask him how he should respond to the incident.
That call came a few moments later, but not from the President.
After a ten-second warning tone on the microwave telephone hookup, a voice began, “All stations, all stations, this is RENEGADE on Zero-Tango action teleconference network. Security classification is Top Secret. All stations stand by. Network poll in progress. National Command Authority, White House…”.
While the lengthy teleconference poll continued, Tyler got on the intercom to Stone. “Rat, tell me more about the Chinese and the Philippines. Are the Chinese a threat to the Philippines or is their involvement limited only to the Spratly Islands? I mean, could they have been victims here, caught in the explosion?”
“Hard to say, sir,” Stone replied. “The Communist movement in the Philippines has very close ties to the mainland Chinese, but as far as I know, the link is only ideological. Until the current regime got into power, there wasn’t any direct contact between the Philippine Communists and the Chinese. But I’ve never heard of the Chinese ships operating so close to Palawan before, especially not a destroyer — and especially not the EF5 class. It’s their newest, most modern and well-equipped model, and they’re risking a lot driving that big boy around in those shallow waters around Palawan.”
“What do you mean, the current regime?”
“Teguina, the First Vice President,” Stone replied. “He’s the leader of the pro-Communist National Democratic Front. Some say he’s the leader of the main Communist armed opposition, called the New People’s Army, that’s been operating in the outlying provinces for the past several years. Teguina has been active in strengthening economic and cultural ties with China over the past few years; China has become a big trading partner with the Philippines and the United States. But it has been suggested that Teguina is working not only to strengthen economic ties to China, but military and political ties as well.”
“China and the Philippines?” Tyler remarked. “Is that really possible?”
“Very possible, sir,” Stone confirmed. “The Philippines have a large population of ethnic Chinese, and mainland Chinese own several large businesses and banks there. But more importantly, China sees itself as the protector of world Communism these days. With the Soviet Union becoming more democratic and capitalist every year, China is the last and perhaps the greatest exporter of Communism in the world. I’d say the Philippines are very fertile ground for them.”
He went on. “I doubt Teguina’s had anything to do with this Chinese fleet off Palawan or the nuclear explosion, but because of his presence in the Philippine government and his relations with the PRC, this could turn out to be a lot more complex than it is right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“My guess is we probably won’t see a total condemnation of the Chinese from the Philippine government,” Stone said. “I don’t know any details, of course, but when it comes time to point the finger, you won’t see all the fingers pointing at China — you’ll see a few pointed at President Mikaso.”
“Mikaso? Why?”
“Mikaso is popular, but perceived as weak,” Stone said. “Teguina is considered a strong leader. Mikaso was also too friendly with the United States. Although Mikaso is much more of a nationalist than Teguina, Teguina’s call for eliminating all U.S. presence in the Philippines was a strong stand that most Filipinos liked to hear.” Stone decided against injecting his own reservations about Teguina into the discussion, but remembered all too well the look in Teguina’s eye that last day at Clark.
“I still don’t get it,” Tyler said with rising exasperation. “Why would Mikaso suffer by having the Chinese explode a nuke near Palawan?”
Just as Stone was about to answer, the poll was completed and the situation briefing began. Five minutes later, the briefing concluded with no mention of the Chinese destroyer or its weaponry. Space Command or the Defense Intelligence Agency refused to comment on the origin of the explosion.
Fine — Tyler would tell them himself. “General — Tyler at SAC,” Tyler said, interrupting the Space Command briefer. “My staff expert here has possibly determined the origin of that nuclear detonation.”
There was a bit of a pause, then: “Go ahead, SAC.”
“China. Satellite imagery confirmed their presence in the area, and my expert reports that the Chinese ships seen in the satellite imagery carry nuclear weapons—”
“Defense Intelligence here,” a voice chimed in. “We have no information of any Chinese vessels carrying nuclear weapons in the South China Sea. In fact the idea is ludicrous.”
Tyler clicked on the intercom to Stone. “You sure of your data, Rat Killer?”
“Positive, General,” Stone said. “My intelligence may be a few weeks old, but it’s reliable.”
The intercom clicked off, then on, and this time Stone could hear the entire conversation on the network. “My expert maintains that the Chinese vessel in the satellite imagery we’ve just received carries nuclear-tipped antiship missiles. The vessel is a Chinese destroyer, the Hong Lung, which is the flagship of a large patrol fleet that operates in the Spratly Islands.”
“JCS copies, SAC,” came the reply after a few moments: the reply came from the chairman himself, General Curtis, and he seemed curiously unsurprised at the revelation. “What is the current status of your units at this time, General Tyler?”
“Sir, I’m showing one hundred percent of the force fully mission ready,” Tyler said, checking the connectivity readout of all his SAC units on the big board. The force is currently under posture four, under my authority. However, please be aware that the current SIOP OPLAN has no contingencies for operations against China or in the east Asian region. We hold no Chinese targets at risk.”
“Understood,” Curtis replied. “It may be premature to declare an A-hour, however. We will defer that decision for the NCA when we call the Charlie conference.”
“Discharge of nuclear weapons automatically invokes at least a DEFCON Three level,” Tyler said. “I recommend we proceed with that. Undoubtedly the Russians and the Chinese will respond by increasing their readiness levels as well; we should take the first step and then re-evaluate the situation.”