Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 03 (62 page)

           
“We support a peaceful solution to
this crisis, Mr. Ambassador . .

           
“I truly hope so, Mr. Secretary,”
Tang said. “It appears to my government, however, that the
United States
wishes to regain its lost military
dominance in the
Philippines
. You are aligning yourself with a traitor
and criminal, blinding your citizens to
Samar
’s violent and revolutionary past, in an
obvious attempt to gain some sort of legitimacy for a military invasion of your
own. That is not the way to solve this crisis, sir.”

           
“There are those who feel that
China
is trying to exert its influence in the
region by the use of force,” Kellogg said, “and that you will stop at nothing
to achieve it. They fear
China
may use
another
nuclear weapon to obliterate
Samar
’s
militia . .

           
Tang bristled at the mention of the
word “nuclear,” and the Americans knew that the meeting was at an end. He rose
to his feet, his hands still folded before him; his face was just as impassive
and expressionless as ever. “I believe we have discussed all pertinent topics.
With your permission, we will deliver your messages to my government with all
speed.”

           
“Include this message, Mr.
Ambassador,” Danahall said coldly. “If the United States detects
any
further activity in the Davao Gulf
or on Mindanao to suggest that Chinese troops are moving to take the city of
Davao, its airport, or the towns around the northern part of the Davao Gulf or
delta, the United States will consider that a hostile act against an ally and
will respond appropriately.” Danahall and the others rose. “Good day, Mr.
Ambassador.” Danahall kept his fingertips on the table, without extending a
hand. Tang gave a short bow, as did his interpreter and assistant, and they
departed.

           
“God, I must be getting old,”
Danahall said. He dropped into a chair, letting Kellogg take his desk back. “I
can’t sell it like I used to.”

           
Kellogg’s outer office phone buzzed.
“Yes?”

           
“Staff meeting in five minutes,
sir,” his secretary said. Kellogg acknowledged the call and hung up. The
message was a simple code to let them all know that the Secret Service wanted
to come in to sweep the office, hallways, and anterooms for newly planted
listening devices before the men began talking about anything of substance.

           
“I wanted to avoid giving the man a
damned ultimatum, and that’s exactly what I ended up giving him,” Danahall
said. “Dumb . . .”

           
“I’m sorry I mentioned the ‘N’
word,” Kellogg said. “I guess I’ll never make much of a diplomat.”

           
“We’re all thinking about it, and he
knew it. It had to come out sooner or later.” Danahall paused, then said, “But
I think he did leave us a few cracks we can explore—not very big cracks, but at
least it’s something to work on.”

           
“I hope something happens in the
next twenty-four hours,” Kellogg said grimly as they stood to allow the Secret
Service to begin their work, “because otherwise I think the diplomatic side has
just run its course.”

Santa Cruz Channel, near the
city of Zamboanga The Philippines

Sunday, 9 October 1994, 0715
hours local

           
Duty aboard the Chinese Liberation
Army Navy destroyer
Hong Lung
for the
day watch and flag staff began at five
A.M.
with reveille shortly before sunrise, prayers for those who were so
inclined (Admiral Yin Po L’un, and therefore most of his flag staff, were not),
a thirty-minute exercise period, cleanup, and breakfast, which usually
consisted of chicken or fish soup, rice, tea, and hard candy or caramel squares
for the enlisted men. Morning inspection began at six-fifteen, and the reports
from each section aboard ship were received by the captain by ten minutes to
seven. By seven
A.M.
the executive
officers of each ship of the fleet escorting the
Hong Lung
reported to the Admiral’s chief of operations, as did the
group commanders from the three other naval battle groups in the southern Philippines;
Yin’s chief of operations then compiled the morning report for the Admiral for
presentation precisely at seven-fifteen.

           
The Admiral first received a
synopsis of incoming-message-traffic from Beijing or South China Sea fleet
headquarters in Zhanjiang (important messages would of course have received his
immediate attention), then a theater situation briefing and intelligence
briefing. Yin’s chief of operations, Captain Sun Ji Guoming, bowed deeply as he
began: “Sir, I am pleased to provide you with the following theater briefing
summary at this time, updated as of five
A.M.
local time:

           
“The primary threat to People’s
Liberation Army Navy’s forces involved in the Philippines conflict currently is
the United States Navy’s aircraft carrier
Independence
battle group from Japan operating in the Luzon Strait, the U.S. Army
Twenty-fifth Infantry Division deployed to Guam, elements of the U.S. Marine
Corps Third Marine Amphibious Force mobilized on Okinawa and deployed with the
Independence
carrier battle group, and
the deployment of the Air Force First Air Battle Wing to Andersen Air Force
Base on Guam. It is important to point out that these all represent partial
deployments of each unit, with approximately thirty to forty percent held in
reserve at their home bases.

           
“Major elements of the U.S. Army’s
Twenty-fifth Infantry Division were recently relocated to Andersen Air Force
Base from
Hawaii
, with approximately eight thousand troops.
It is designed to be a light, quickly deployable force. Our intelligence
estimates state, however, that insufficient air or sealift capability exists to
move this force from
Guam
to the
Philippines
with any speed. However, if they did move
this force, we would oppose them with twice the number of infantry troops
already in place on
Mindanao
and four times the number on
Luzon
and other areas of the
Philippines
. Elements of the Second Infantry Division
in
South Korea
and
Japan
have also been mobilized, but we estimate
they are still several days from being called into action and at least a week
after that to see action in the
Philippines
.

           
“The Third Marine Division and
elements of the First Marine Aircraft Wing have been deployed with the
Independence
carrier battle group, which is now
stationed offshore approximately sixty kilometers northeast of Y’ami Island in
the
Luzon
Strait
; this is approximately three hundred and
fifty kilometers north of the
Philippines
. In our estimation, the carrier battle
group is not in position to strike into Luzon at this time, although they can be
in position to strike with their aircraft within twenty-four hours and in
position to begin ground operations on Luzon within forty-eight to seventy-two
hours; this is what is currently driving our threat condition status throughout
the People’s Liberation Army. The total American naval force includes
approximately sixteen warships, ten support ships, four to six submarines—
perhaps more, the exact number is uncertain—twenty fighter aircraft, and fifty
fixed-wing strike aircraft.

           
“The Fifth Marine Pre-positioning
Force from
Hawaii
has been activated and is deployed in the
Philippine Sea
with approximately five thousand Marines
and forty helicopters, including the MV-22 tilt-rotor transport aircraft that
was apparently used in the rescue of
Samar
and
the American pilot on
Mindanao
. This force can strike in the central
Philippines
within twenty-four to forty-eight hours’
notice as well. This force includes two landing-ship carriers, four
tank-landing carriers, and four support vessels.

           
“The greatest naval threat to our
forces in the southern
Philippines
was the
Ranger
carrier battle group,” Sun continued. “The carrier itself is still heavily
damaged and considered out of commission; it is being towed to
Pearl Harbor
,
Hawaii
, and except for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is unable to
conduct any flight operations.”

           
A rustle of approving voices filled
the conference room.

           
“However, the latest report has
shown that a destroyer and a guided-missile cruiser from the
Ranger
group are en route to the
Celebes
from
Indonesia
and will be within missile range of some of
our ships within the next four to five hours. They are being joined by a
six-ship surface action group led by the battleship
Wisconsin,
en route from Hawaii, which our estimates say will be in
position to attack in three to five days; these groups carry land-attack
Tomahawk cruise missiles. Our embassy has received word that the
Ranger's
support ships intend to conduct
search and rescue operations for their downed crew members lost in the air battle
last week—”

           
“They will not be permitted to enter
the
Celebes Sea
,” Admiral Yin said solemnly. “That I can
promise. When
Davao
has been taken, Group One and Group Two will form to oppose these task
forces until additional forces arrive from the mainland.”

           
“Yes, sir,” Sun continued. “This
leaves the greatest threat to the southern
Philippines
task force, in the estimation of our
intelligence section: the American Air Force. The First Air Battle Wing
currently deployed on Guam reportedly has two dozen B-52 heavy bombers, perhaps
eight long-range supersonic B-l and F-l 11 bombers, nearly a dozen medium-
range F-15 supersonic bombers, two dozen F-l5 and F-l6 fighter escorts, and
various support aircraft, including reconnaissance, early warning, intelligence,
and aerial refueling aircraft. Unverified reports from our patrols in the

           
Philippine Sea
say that the Americans might have sent B-2s
as well.

           
“This force can strike within three
hours with enough standoff weaponry to devastate large sections of our deployed
battle groups. They have been flying reconnaissance flights as far west as
Talaud
Island
, within radar range of our warships outside
Davao
Gulf
. One U-2 spy plane was shot down last night
by the destroyer
Zhangyhum:
we
estimate the U-2 was able to get pictures of our vessels in
Davao
Gulf
itself.”

           
“It does not sound like much of a
threat to me, Captain,” Admiral Yin said. “Only thirty-two long-range strike
aircraft, most of which are over forty years old? I see no substantial threat.”

           
“Their medium-range bombers and
fighters are also a threat because of their aerial-refueling capability, sir,”
Captain Sun replied. “And we should not underestimate the payload capability of
the B-52. Fully armed, they can carry twenty-four Harpoon antiship missiles, which
can strike from as far as one hundred and fifty kilometers—”

           
“Yes, the heavy bombers are a
threat, Captain,” Admiral Yin said, “but once we secure
Davao
Airport
, we can launch
twenty
fighters for every
one
of their bombers. The odds are clearly in our favor. The closest American air
base on
Okinawa
is almost sixteen hundred kilometers from
Manila
, and the American air base on
Guam
is over two thousand kilometers from
Davao
. Even if the Americans were granted
permission to use the British air base at Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, that
is still eight hundred kilometers to Zamboanga and twelve hundred kilometers to
Davao—plenty of time to organize our air, ground, and surface defenses. Once
reliable radar early-warning networks are established around the
Philippines
, no American planes would be able to
approach any Chinese positions without being detected. .. .

           
“The key, however, is our impending
attack on
Davao
. What is the status of our forces and the
status of our operation against
Davao
?” Yin asked.

           
“The Admiral’s headquarters fleet
afloat reports fully operational,” Captain Sun replied. “All vessels report
fully manned, ready, and combat-capable, with no operational defects.

           
“The schedule briefed yesterday is
still valid, sir/’ Captain Sun continued. “At
two
A.M.
tomorrow morning, Marine paratroopers will land on the coast outside the
city of
Davao
and secure the Subasta and Sibuyan
highways. Other Marine units will take
Talikud
Island
and seal off the coastal towns of Samal and
Bangoy on
Samal
Island
. This will allow the minesweepers to enter
Dadaotan
Bay
ahead of the destroyers and landing craft
transports, without fear of attack in the narrow channel.”

           
That was the same objective during
the invasion of Zamboanga, when the heavily populated Santa Cruz Channel had to
be sanitized before Yin’s fleet could take up positions, except then they had
more air power flying from Puerto Princesa and the element of surprise. That
was gone now— unlike Zamboanga,
Davao
was ready for a siege.

           
Many things were different between
Davao
and the relatively easy siege of Zamboanga.
Davao
was the heart of the
Samar
government and the capital of the
autonomous proIslamic government on
Mindanao
.
Few officials and residents here were from Luzon—although Davao had as much natural
beauty as Zamboanga and was the largest city on Mindanao, with a population of
over seventy-five thousand, it was considered an isolated, remote, untamed
frontier town and never gained the popularity of its more contemporary sister
city to the west.
Davao
had no large military base, so there was no large-scale government
facility from which to stage a “popular revolt.” Nevertheless, Yin was
determined to see
Davao
fall.

           
“By
five
A.M.
the destroyers should be in place, and the LSTs will begin deploying
landing craft,” Sun continued. “The Air Force will move in to soften the beach
area, and the destroyers with their escorts and shallow-draft patrol craft will
secure the bay and harbors and provide gun support for the landing craft. The
landing should begin at
six
A.M.
and should be complete by eleven. Sometime
tomorrow afternoon, perhaps earlier,
Samar
International
Airport
will be ours.