Chapter 49: The Storm Rises Again

  Beijing time at two o'clock in the afternoon, nearly one billion people around the world were drawn in front of their TVs.

  About an hour and a half ago, at around 9:30 New Delhi time, protesters broke through the police cordon and threw bricks, stones, and Molotov cocktails at the Chinese embassy in India, causing all the windows on the street side to be smashed and injuring over ten staff members. The rioters also surged into Chinatown, smashing Chinese shops and attacking ethnic Chinese. Similar violent incidents occurred in Mumbai, Kolkata, and other major cities.

  The situation is deteriorating rapidly, and the whole world is waiting for a "Chinese voice".

  An hour ago, major TV stations around the world adjusted their program schedules to focus on China's reaction. Some in-depth TV stations even invited senior commentators to analyze the current situation and speculate on possible measures that China might take. All commentators emphasized one thing: ten days ago, India bombed the dormitory of Chinese workers at Gwadar Port, resulting in nearly 100 casualties among Chinese nationals, after which China immediately dispatched a special mixed fleet to the Indian Ocean.

  It is implied that China may take military action.

  Half an hour ago, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a message: A press conference will be held at 2:30 pm.

  Journalists immediately caught the strong smell of gunpowder and flocked to the press conference center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, scrambling for the most advantageous positions, preparing for live broadcasts.

  The comments of various TV stations' news also reached a climax at this time.

  Although most commentators believe that China will only condemn the violence against Chinese nationals in India, because the victims are legally Indians, not Chinese. However, all commentators believe that China will use the attack on its embassy as a pretext to launch military strikes against India, because China has sovereignty and jurisdiction over its embassy in India, and therefore has the right to defend it by force.

  In this case, even if China declares war on India, it would be reasonable.

  The focus of discussion has shifted from "what kind of response China will make" to "whether China will declare war on India".

  Almost all Western TV stations think that China is about to declare war on India, hyping up "**". Some TV stations even compared the military strength of China and India, analyzing possible military actions China might take after declaring war on India, and even maliciously speculating about China's ultimate goal.

  Under the deliberate induction of Western media, the audience ignored the essence of the incident and instead thought that China deliberately fabricated reasons for invading India in order to achieve an unspoken purpose. Unbeknownst to them, tens of thousands of Indian Chinese are suffering, as well as over 100 million Muslims living in India.

  At 2:25, Foreign Minister Huang Guohua of the Republic entered the press conference center.

  The Foreign Ministry spokesperson hosting the press conference first announced the rules: this is just a press conference, not a reception for journalists, and the foreign minister will not accept any questions.

  At 2:30, Huang Guowei walked onto the stage.

  The room fell silent, reporters held their breaths, and hundreds of cameras were trained on the Foreign Minister. Through live broadcast, Huang Guohua appeared on the TV screens of tens of millions of households. According to incomplete statistics, at this moment, the number of viewers sitting in front of the TV exceeded the scale of the London Olympics opening ceremony, reaching 2.5 billion.

  "Good afternoon everyone, I am Huang Guohua, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic."

  The foreign minister's opening remarks were very brief, reminding many reporters of a press conference ten days ago.

  "In the past few hours, too many things that shouldn't have happened have occurred. At this moment, heinous crimes are still being committed. Huang Guowei put on a different face from his usual gentle one and took out several photos. "When I saw these photos, I thought of an event that was widely reported by Western media a few years ago. At the time, Western countries' news media collectively served as the mouthpiece for extreme forces, even terrorist organizations, that sought to split China and demonize it, with lengthy reports full of false and maliciously fabricated news. Today, in the face of ironclad facts, Western countries' news media have not only collectively fallen silent but also deliberately fabricated '**', regardless of the truth of the matter, and maliciously smeared China. From this, I see that not only has the true face of the Western world, which claims to uphold 'human rights' and 'rule of law', been exposed, but also the entire Western world's moral decay in the face of human ethics!"

  The flash no longer flickers, the shutter sound no longer echoes, and only heavy breathing and pounding heartbeats are left in the venue.

  "Some Western countries have always claimed to be 'human rights defenders', but in reality, they use the banner of 'protecting human rights' to conceal their true face of pursuing interests. To achieve their ulterior motives, they do not hesitate to use extreme and barbaric means to overthrow other countries' legitimate governments, turning fields into battlefields and towns into cemeteries.

  Just today, those countries that loudly claim to defend human rights have collectively fallen silent, become blind and deaf!

  When faced with irrefutable evidence, why do those countries that uphold the rule of law and promote human rights collectively turn a blind eye? Because they wear colored glasses. When tens of thousands of lives are lost, when millions of Muslims and Chinese people are slaughtered, we cannot and will not expect anything from those hypocrites who are driven by self-interest, nor can we expect anything from those behind-the-scenes black hands that manufacture conflicts, provoke clashes, and drive wars!"

  The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became tense, and the tone of this remark was too obvious.

  "On behalf of the Republic, I declare: those who create war will be severely punished, and those who condone violence will be held equally guilty with the rioters. India will bear all responsibility and consequences for the atrocities that have occurred, are occurring, and will occur. The Republic will take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of overseas Chinese and punish the perpetrators of these heinous crimes!"

  Before the reporter could react, Huang Guowei walked down from the stage and left the press conference center.

  After a brief calm, the press center suddenly erupted.

  The whole world was also boiling at this time. Although the Republic did not declare war on India, the statement issued by the Foreign Minister of the Republic had already approached a declaration of war indefinitely.

  The Republic will definitely launch a military strike against India and take immediate action.

  On the other side of the world, when the news channel cut back to the studio, Jaber turned off the TV.

  Secretary of State Lynch and National Security Assistant Erik snapped back to reality after a brief shock, looking towards the President.

  Jabari didn't rush to speak, the situation was much more serious than he had imagined.

  Ten days ago, China informed the US before announcing the dispatch of a fleet to the Indian Ocean. This time is an exception, not only was there no formal diplomatic note, but Ji Youguo also did not have a hotline call with Jaishankar.

  Lin Qi's lips moved a few times, but in the end he swallowed back the words that had reached his mouth.

  "It's clear that China won't back down." Jaber broke the silence, asking Erik, "How quickly can China launch a military operation?"

  "It depends on how China intervenes in the war and to what extent." Eric rubbed his temples, "If it's just a punitive operation, China will target the Indian Navy, deploying a special mixed fleet and dozens of combat aircraft. Under current circumstances, preparations can be made within 24 hours and operations can be launched within 48 hours. If China is preparing for large-scale intervention with the goal of recovering South Tibet, hundreds of thousands of ground troops and hundreds of combat aircraft will need to be deployed. Even if China was prepared before the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War, at least a week would be needed to complete preparations for an attack."

  "China will not go to war with India on land," Linchi interjected.

  Erik nodded slightly and said: "We can basically conclude that China will mainly attack the Indian Navy, avoiding a land war with India."

  Jia Pei did not express any objection and also agreed with the judgment of the two staff members.

  "If we strike, we can annihilate the Chinese fleet in three hours."

  "No, we cannot have a direct confrontation with China." Jaishankar immediately shot down the security adviser's proposal.

  "Should we warn Santos?" Lynch had caught on to the president's drift and offered his opinion with great tact.

  Jai Pal shook his head and said, "China has already shown its bottom line. Not only does it want to punish India through military means, but also warn us. If we intervene at this time, China may be forced to strike India in the form of a ground war. At that time, the situation will completely lose control."

  The two aides were both startled, and they picked up on another layer of meaning in the president's words.

  Jaber rubbed his forehead, "We also need to make a statement immediately. Lin Qi, draft a proposal as soon as possible to impose severe sanctions on the warring parties through the United Nations. In addition, withdraw the 'Truman' aircraft carrier battle group back to Diego Garcia. We are not Santos' babysitters and cannot confront China for him."

  Santos also watched live news and immediately convened a meeting with his main staff to discuss countermeasures.

  China's tough attitude made the interim Prime Minister of India, who had just eliminated his political opponents and was still basking in self-satisfaction, feel a mortal threat. The Army Chief of Staff Dugal, Air Force Chief of Staff Gajni, and Navy Chief of Staff Levwal, who came to the Prime Minister's office, all believed that the Indian army had no chance of winning when discussing the issue of fighting against China.

  Santos first dismissed the idea of a land war with China.

  The foundation of ground warfare is air superiority, and the Indian Air Force can't even compete with the Pakistani Air Force, let alone the Chinese Air Force. Moreover, ground warfare can easily escalate into large-scale war or even total war. Even if India has nuclear weapons, China will not recklessly occupy Indian territory, but China has more nuclear weapons, and India doesn't even dare to strike at military targets on Chinese soil.

  We can only have a final showdown with China at sea!

  As a politician, Santos was well aware that the necessary condition for retaining power was not to engage in a showdown with China but to find a reason that would allow India to withdraw from the war with dignity.

  Defeating China's carrier fleet and retaking control of the Indian Ocean is a sufficient reason.

  At that time, they can loudly declare that they have defeated the Chinese Navy, allowing the angry masses to be satisfied and calming down domestic nationalist sentiment, thereby reaching a ceasefire with Pakistan.

  Of course, we cannot ignore the threat of the Chinese army.

  More troops must be deployed in the eastern region to defend Assam, declare that China's aggressive ambitions have been crushed, and enhance the prestige of the provisional government and the provisional prime minister.

  Perfect plan, perfect ending!