Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (52 page)

 
          
“I
hope not, Mr. President—I hope not,” Nagai said. “I have one last question, Mr.
President.”

 
          
“What’s
that?”

           
“Sir, we have been notified by our
intelligence services that you have convened your Strategic Command’s Combined
Task Forces battle staff,” Nagai said. The President’s jaw dropped open in
absolute surprise. “We know that this battle staff is convened to organize and
equip your country’s strategic nuclear forces.”

 
          
“Mr.
Prime Minister, I cannot confirm such a thing.”

           
“I understand, Mr. President,” Nagai
said. “I only hope that if this was true, that it does not mean that the United
States is traveling down the slippery slope to a nuclear confrontation with the
People’s Republic of China. The movement of the
Independence
carrier battle group into the Formosa Strait will
certainly elevate hostilities to a dangerous level already—if it became known
that America was also considering reactivating its nuclear deterrent forces,
the level of tensions worldwide would increase tremendously. Even worse, if it
became known that the
Independence
or
any of its escorts carried tactical nuclear attack weapons—”

 
          
“Mr.
Nagai, I don’t like what you’re insinuating,” Martindale interjected angrily.
“I will not discuss the disposition of any of our strategic systems, and I will
not tolerate veiled threats from you to pass along incorrect or misleading
information designed to enbarrass the United States or further your own
political agenda. I advise
you
to
reconsider your actions very carefully. Thank you, and good night.” The
President slammed the phone back on its cradle. “No more calls from that rat
bastard Nagai, got it, Jerrod? How dare he deliver ultimatums to me!” The
President sat fuming for several long moments; then: “I want to talk with
President Lee and President Jiang as soon as possible, President Lee first.”

 
          
“The
ambassador from the PRC, Hou Qingze, is standing by for you, sir, calling from
New York,” Jerrod Hale said. “Line two. He’s been on hold since you took the
call from Nagai.”

 
          
The
President nodded, impressed—and even less impressed now by Taiwan’s silence. He
took several deep breaths to wash the anger out of his head, then hit the
button and picked up the phone: “Ambassador Hou, this is Kevin Martindale.
Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

 
          
“Not
at all, Mr. President,” Ambassador Hou Qingze responded in very good English,
with a hint of a British accent. “I am honored to speak with you tonight. I
first wish to convey the deep sadness and regret of President Jiang and the
government and people of the People’s Republic of China over the recent
conflict between the Nationalists and our country.”

 
          
“Does
your country have an explanation, Ambassador?”

 
          
“I
am sorry to say, Mr. President, that the People’s Liberation Army Navy forces
overreacted to certain actions by the rebel Nationalist terrorist forces,” Hou
said. “My government deeply regrets our actions and is very embarrassed. ”

 
          
“Overreacted?
You fired
nuclear missiles
at Quemoy,
sir.”

 
          
“My
government strenuously denies that we launched any nuclear weapons at anyone,
Mr. President,” Hou said sincerely.

 
          
“We’ve
heard your denials several times a day for the past two weeks, sir,” the
President said. “It doesn’t change the facts—we
know
the missiles were fired by your ships.”

 
          
“We
must respectfully disagree, sir,” Ambassador Hou said. “But the purpose of my
call, Mr. President, if I may, was not about the past conflict, but to explain
our actions in this recent string of attacks.

 
          
“The
torpedo attacks by the Taiwanese submarine shadowing the
Mao Zedong
carrier group could have been an accidental firing, or
an in- solated rogue attack. The sudden appearance of a Taiwanese submarine so
close to our ships, after our nations had agreed not to sail any submarines in
the Strait during the carrier group’s transit, caused our naval forces to sound
an attack alarm,” Hou said rather contritely. “We were totally caught unawares,
and our forces reacted.

           
“Further, it now appears that the
so-called bombing attack by the Taiwanese transport plane was merely a navigational
error. The pilot apparently had instrument problems caused by a nearby
electrical storm that caused him to cross into our airspace, which alerted our
air defenses, who then perceived the incursion as a prelude to an attack, to
which we responded by launching a counterattack,” Hou continued. “Again, our
forces were caught unaware and surprised, which, combined with the announced
attack on the carrier group just minutes earlier, caused confusion and fear,
and so we overreacted. On behalf of my country, I am deeply sorry for this
unwarranted action against the people of Matsu, and beg forgiveness.”

 
          
The
President was silent for several long moments. It appeared as if the Chinese
had come clean—they were admitting that they screwed up! Their explanation
seemed totally plausible: two isolated incidents, both sparked by Taiwan,
occurring only moments apart, caused the Chinese military to surge forward. “I
see,” the President said on the phone, believing Hou but not yet willing to
admit it. “What are your country’s intentions now?”

 
          
“My
government informs me that all further troop movements have been halted against
Matsu, and no further attacks will be initiated,” Ambassador Hou replied. “We
regret the loss of life and the destruction of property, but under the
circumstances I believe our reaction, dishonorable and unfortunate as it was,
was fully justified. We shall transmit our apology to the Nationalist
government immediately. And, in the interest of peace, we assure you and the
rest of the world that the crew of the Taiwanese sub will be treated fairly. We
are not in a state of war, but the sailors of the submarine that attacked our
carrier will be treated as if they are prisoners of war—with respect and
fairness. My government will also agree to submit the matter to an
international tribunal.”

 
          
The
President was impressed and heartened at these proposals; it definitely
appeared as if China was ready and willing to compromise and not isolate
themselves. Were they being perhaps too willing? the President thought. “May we
get a copy of your withdrawal orders and a written account of China’s actions
in this conflict?” he asked.

 
          
“I
shall have it delivered to Secretary of State Hartman’s office and to the White
House within the hour, Mr. President,” Hou replied.

 
          
The
President was taken aback by the openness and cooperation Hou showed—of course,
it all remained to be seen, but he was still surprised by
China
’s apparent forthrightness. “Very well, Mr.
Ambassador,” the President said. “We look forward to your continuing
cooperation in this very serious matter. ”

 
          
“I
pledge my country’s sincere cooperation,” Hou said. He paused for a moment, as
if embarrassed to bring up the point; then: “I have been instructed to ask you,
Mr. President, for some sort of explanation for the horrible and tragic event
that occurred near Quemoy a short while ago.” He heard Martindale pause at the
question, then hastily added, “If you wish not to speak of it now, sir, I
understand. There are delicate and critical factors to be analyzed.”

 
          
“There
is still a lot of confusion over exactly what happened, Mr. Ambassador, in the
incidents near Hong Kong and Matsu as well as the one near Quemoy,” the
President replied. “But since you’ve been honest with us, Mr. Ambassador, we’ll
be honest with you, as long as this information is held in the strictest
confidence.”

 
          
“Of
course, Mr. President,” Hou responded.

 
          
“The
attack on the passenger ferry was prompted by a missile attack on two U.S. Navy
frigates,” the President said. “An armed patrol plane flying in the same area
detected the attack on our ships and, mistakingly believing the missiles came
from the ferry, returned fire. Our sensors reported that the ferry was a
warship, and it was on a convergent course with our patrol ships, so when the
missile attacks occurred, our patrol plane commenced an immediate
counterattack.”

 
          
“The
EB-52 Megafortress bomber, it has the capability of distinguishing between
different vessels from such long distances?” Hou asked.

 
          
The
President’s head jerked up at the mention of the Megafortress— they knew! The
Chinese government knew about the Megafortress! This was the second conflict
against the Chinese in which the bomber had been used, so it was not totally
unexplainable—but to hear the aircraft’s nickname used so casually was a great
shock to the President, who had been involved with the weapon system since its
inception and had managed to keep it a closely guarded secret, even from most
of the rest of the U.S. government. “I cannot discuss types of aircraft or the
capabilities they may or may not have,” President Martindale responded, trying
to keep his voice level and moderated. “All I can say is that the attack was
accidental, and these patrol planes are being removed from the area to avoid
any further accidents, in the interest of peace. We were hoping that you might
have some explanation for the attack on the American frigates.”

 
          
“We
removed all warships and submarines from the Quemoy Island area, Mr. President,
also in the interest of peace,” Ambassador Hou said. “We do not have any
explanation for this so-called torpedo attack. I can of course confirm that
some naval air and air force units responded to the alert of an American
invasion, and in their zeal overstepped their authority and attacked your
frigates. On behalf of my country, I sincerely apologize for that attack. I
have been advised that your Megafortress engaged some of our aircraft as well.
A very formidable aircraft, I must admit.”

 
          
“I
trust the People’s Republic of China will not seek any retaliation for this
incident or any others that occurred today, and that we can work together to
restore peace and stability to the region,” the President said, ignoring the
remark about the Megafortress. The amount of information Hou and the Chinese
had gathered during the last engagement was incredible, he thought. There was
probably no way they could ever keep the Megafortress secret again.

 
          
“The
People’s Republic of China shares and echoes those thoughts, Mr. President,”
Ambassador Hou said warmly. “I must tell you that my country’s reconnaissance
planes did make contact with the Megafortress patrol plane, but were under
orders not to fire upon it after it withdrew from the area, even though it
attacked the civilian ferry, attacked our defensive aircraft, and thereby
caused so many deaths.” The President of the United States gave a silent
laugh—only the Chinese could call an H- 6 bomber loaded with two huge anti-ship
missiles “defensive.” “We will not prevent any other armed patrol planes from entering
international airspace anywhere in the region, but we do ask that these
modified B-52 bombers be excluded from the region, in the interest of peace.
The power of these combat aircraft is a significant threat to the People’s
Republic of China.”

 
          
The
President was again reeling from Hou’s words. They knew about the Megafortress,
all right! He was sure that soon the rest of the world would know, despite
Hou’s promise to keep all this confidential. “We agree, Ambassador,” the
President said. “As long as a state of war does not exist between our two
countries, we will refrain from sending any heavy strike aircraft near Chinese
airspace.”

           
“Your words are wise and strong, Mr.
President,” Hou said warmly. “On behalf of my country, I thank you. In the search
for peace, Mr. President, China still seeks reunification of its territories
split apart from her by imperialists and rebels. The United States can play a
critical role in that reunification.

 
          
“I
have been authorized by my government to extend this invitation and request:
Would the United States consider mediating talks between my government and the
Nationalist government on Formosa, seeking complete reunification of the two
Chinas by the year 2005? Like the successful talks between Britain, Portugal,
and my country for return of Hong Kong and Macau, the United States could act
as honest broker for the glorious reunification of China, while still
preserving the economic strength and ideological diversity of the Nationalist
movement. Will you do it, Mr. President? Will you consider President Jiang’s
request?”