“What about the Chinese? Are they assisting in the coup?” asked Curtis.
“The Chinese have occupied a military base on Palawan — they have in fact occupied the entire island — and have been given authorization by Teguina to occupy four more installations in the south,” Secretary of Defense Preston said. “There are Chinese infantry and armor units in the capital already, and they are augmenting rebel troops by the hundreds.”
Curtis looked at the President of the United States, understanding the terrible anguish within him. President Taylor and Mikaso had been friends despite the removal of U.S. troops from the Philippines, and Taylor had always pledged to protect Mikaso and his island country no matter what the political situation was. The news of his murder in his own house, by invading troops, must have been devastating to the President. “Mr. President, I’m very sorry…”
“I haven’t even briefed the rest of the NSC or the Cabinet about it yet,” the President replied quietly. “Dammit, I should have been smarter. I should have realized Arturo was in danger from the beginning…” The President swiveled his chair and faced his advisers. “Well, what the hell do we do now?”
“The Chinese have closed off the airport,” Danahall said. “It’s too late to evacuate American citizens in Manila. We should demand that all American citizens that wish to leave be allowed to leave.”
“Yes, absolutely… see to it immediately,” the President said. His mind was moving quickly from item to item, all the while interrupted with the thought of his friend murdered in cold blood by a Chinese soldier. “What about the carriers? Are they in danger from the Chinese now?”
General Curtis said, “I believe the carriers can adequately protect themselves from any sea-based threats, including Chinese submarines. Their main threat would come from long-range, land-based strike aircraft or antiship missiles, and we need to determine the seriousness of that threat before sending any carrier task forces too close to occupied territory. The main thing is, we’ve got to get all the data we possibly can on the composition of the Chinese invaders. But if I may speak freely, sir — the most important question here is what you intend to do about the Chinese in the Philippines,” Curtis concluded.
“I want the Chinese out, that’s what,” the President replied testily. “I want the democratic government in Manila restored. We will open negotiations with Premier Cheung immediately, of course, but I want them out. Unconditionally.”
“But if they are invited by the Philippine government? Do we have any right to go in with military force to try to remove them?” Secretary of Defense Preston asked. “If they pose no direct threat to free trade and free access to the South Pacific or Southeast Asia, why do we want them out of the Philippines?”
“What do you mean…? Of course we have the right to remove them from the Philippines,” President Taylor said. “They’re a destabilizing force, a military and political threat to the democracies in the area. Aren’t we in agreement on this?”
“I don’t think there is any question about that,” Danahall said. “A three-way balance of power — us, the Soviets, and the Chinese — offers the best stability. Reduce it to one nation and the Cold War heats up all over again.”
Curtis said, “But Secretary Preston’s point is valid, sir. We might not have any legitimate right to try to bump the Chinese out unless we can prove that the invasion is not in our best interests or unless we are asked to intervene.”
“We have every right to make demands on the Chinese,” Cesare interjected. “They don’t own the South China Sea. No nation can just move in and occupy another country.”
“Exactly, Paul,” the President said, “Mikaso was our friend and ally. I’m sure he didn’t give his life to allow the Chinese to march into his capital and take over his country.”
“Curtis and Preston have a point, Mr. President,” Danahall said. “If the present government — even Teguina — says he invited China in to quell some sort of national uprising, that forces us into a defensive situation. We have to explain to the world why we want to send troops in.”
“We’re always put in a position to defend our actions,” the President scoffed. “What else is new?”
“That’s often true, Mr. President,” Danahall said. “But we’ve got to try to work in concert with other countries — the more we try to go it alone, the more we’re accused of bullying and imperialism. We should get some interested countries involved and get them to ask for our help.”
“Like who?”
“ASEAN, for example,” Danahall replied. “Most or all of the ASEAN nations have had territorial arguments with China — ASEAN was developed as a counterweight to Chinese aggression. And then there are things we can do to advance our own military position without unnecessarily provoking the Chinese or alienating ASEAN…”
“Well, sending in a second carrier battle group and a Marine Expeditionary Unit seems pretty provocative to me,” Cesare said.
“I think that action can be fully justified in the context of a nuclear-armed Chinese naval group that has moved into the South China Sea. I mean it’s right in the heart of ASEAN,” Curtis replied. “So would sending in the Air Battle force for support—”
“I don’t want to send in the damned B-52 bombers,” the President grumbled. “Sending them in would be tantamount to saying we want a nuclear exchange. Christ, Curtis…”
“Sir, the biggest threat facing our carrier battle group in the South China Sea is not sea-based threats, but land-based threats,” Curtis argued. “Heavy bombers and large antiship weapons launched from shore could devastate the fleet…”
“You said that already.”
“The same argument applies to the Chinese, sir. Even a small squadron of Harpoon-equipped B-52s could devastate a Chinese surface action group — each bomber could destroy two to four vessels, with minimal risk to themselves.”
The point, however grudgingly, was made on the President. “So what can the Air Force do?” the President asked after a brief pause. “We don’t have bases in the Philippines…”
“We’d operate out of Guam, sir, just like STRATFOR is doing,” Curtis replied. “We’d deploy the First Air Battle Wing and have the manpower and equipment out there on hand for both fleet defense, sea interdiction, and ground attack. I’m not asking for permission to send the entire Air Battle Wing, sir,” Curtis concluded. “We’ll need time to set up — at least five to six days. But General Elliott of HAWC has devised a special combat-information exchange system aboard several of his aircraft — including several modified B-52s and a B-2 stealth bomber — that could be extremely valuable to us if the shooting starts. I’m requesting permission to send Elliott and one aircraft, the stealth bomber, to Guam — under absolute secrecy — to help get things set up.”
“Elliott?” the President asked, rolling his eyes. “Brad Elliott? He’s involved in this… already?”
Curtis went slowly, calmly, trying not to inflame the President any further. “It was his Center’s satellite system — PACER SKY — that got the photos of the Chinese ship launching the nuclear missile at the Philippine Navy. We want to expand that same satellite system on all the Air Battle Force aircraft…”
“But why send a B-2?” the President asked.
“The B-2 is a part of the Air Battle Force now, sir,” General Curtis explained. “It requires a lot more security and a bit more ground-support pre-planning. In addition, this particular B-2 was General Elliott’s prototype with the full PACER SKY satellite system installed. It also has greatly enhanced reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities that we will need immediately if the Air Battle Force is activated.”