Chapter 10: The Turning Point (Three)

  Three

  As Japan's Self-Defense Forces' withdrawal from Jakarta is nearing its end, the Chinese government, which had once been confident, also has to seriously consider the direction of Indonesia's future.

  The Republic of Indonesia covers an area of over 1.9 million square kilometers, comprising 13,667 islands between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, making it the world's largest archipelago. About 6,000 of these islands are inhabited, with a total population of over 200 million. If China were to control all of them single-handedly, its military strength would be stretched thin. Not to mention having to solve the food problem for over 200 million people.

  When the Chinese Expeditionary Force was in a superior position in the Battle of Java, the federal government began to seek Taiwan's participation in Indonesia's post-war reconstruction. Although since the peaceful reunification of both sides, the Taiwanese Special Administrative Region has been committed to reducing its massive military expenditure, the three armed forces of the region, especially the army, have significantly reduced their personnel.

  By the time of the Indonesian civil war, the total strength of the Taiwan Garrison Command had been reduced from its peak of 385,000 to 256,000, consisting of an army of 95,900, a navy of 50,000 and an air force of 60,500.

  Despite this, the Taiwanese military remains a force to be reckoned with in East Asia compared to other ASEAN countries. The federal government has been hesitant about inviting Taiwan to participate in post-conflict peacekeeping missions in Indonesia, believing that the Taiwanese public, who are enjoying the "peace dividend", would not accept sending troops overseas.

  However, unexpectedly, the motion was unanimously supported by all major parties on the island as soon as it was proposed. The Taiwanese people were even more enthusiastic, strongly demanding that the island's sons be sent to the Nanyang region.

  "After all, we are all Chinese people, and we have had great ambitions for the Wijay Sea in the past." On September 27, 2007, in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan Special Administrative Region, Wu Hui, Deputy Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, accompanied by Lieutenant General Lei Guangyao, Commander of the Taiwan Special Administrative Region Military District, inspected the first batch of Taiwanese special zone soldiers departing for Java and said so sincerely.

  Taiwan Special Administrative Region will dispatch a total of 17,000 peacekeeping troops to Indonesia in three batches under the "South Seas Peace Act" passed by the Legislative Yuan. The first batch of peacekeepers will consist of 7,000 personnel and will be mainly deployed in the Java region. This is also the first time that Taiwan has dispatched military forces overseas for a peacekeeping mission since the Vietnam War.

  Apart from inviting the Taiwan Special Administrative Region to provide military assistance, China also further delineated peacekeeping areas with ASEAN countries. Sumatra and its surrounding islands west of Java will be mainly responsible for the tripartite joint forces of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

  These three major ASEAN countries, which have always cherished the Malacca Strait, did not want China to over-extend its reach into this "Golden Waterway". They naturally agreed. However, after dispersing, Indonesian rebels continued to use the coastal areas of Sumatra to lay floating mines, causing great trouble for navigation in the Malacca Strait. It seems that relying solely on the strength of these three countries will be difficult to stabilize the local situation in a short period of time.

  Vietnam, which has been serving as China's frontline base in the battle for Java Island, is now eager to try again, repeatedly expressing its willingness to send ground troops into Sumatra to change its long-standing bad image of being excluded by ASEAN and expand its international influence.

  Although the true intentions of Vietnam had long been transparent, in order to "stabilize the local situation as soon as possible", with China's tacit consent, the Vietnamese government began to massively deploy troops to the Sumatran region.

  There were also a few more amusing things during this period: Cambodia, which had just withdrawn from the international peacekeeping force, hoped to participate in the Indonesian peacekeeping action. After the Chinese government agreed with a mixture of tears and laughter, it was discovered that they lacked the ability to transport troops over long distances and had to ask for China's help again.

  Helplessly, the Chinese government had to let Vietnam take this enthusiastic little brother and present a batch of high-mobility off-road vehicles to the Cambodian peacekeeping forces, so that this little brother would not be overworked in the peacekeeping mission.

  On the other hand, Brunei, a small country that has been living in a paradise-like life on the island of Kalimantan by relying on oil exports, has also begun to feel insecure with Indonesia's civil war recently. Although it does not directly border Indonesia, Major General Pratari, the former commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Eastern Military Command, had long coveted wealthy Brunei during the civil war in Kalimantan.

  At the height of clashes between Chinese armed groups and rebels, Major General Pratomo had already expanded his own military strength to nearly 150,000 men, becoming a powerful warlord dominating eastern Indonesia.

  Just as the Java war was about to subside, on his instructions, a 2,000-strong Islamic religious armed force with an unknown identity secretly infiltrated East Malaysia under the banner of an unknown flag and suddenly appeared on the border of Brunei. The modernized national defense forces that Brunei had been boasting about for many years (actually, the total strength of the three armies was only 4,200 people) were defeated by this group of mobs on their own border line, and an armored reconnaissance squadron with 16 British-made "Scorpion" light tanks was easily annihilated in 20 minutes.

  The whole nation was shocked, and everyone was in a state of panic. From the Sultan down to the ordinary people, everyone was busy packing up their valuables at home preparing to flee for their lives. Fortunately, the rebels were not well-prepared and only looted along the border before retreating back into Indonesia. If it had been a large-scale invasion, Brunei would have become another Kuwait during the Gulf War.

  The Sultan of Brunei was in a hurry to seek medical attention and simultaneously asked for help from China, the United States and Australia. Although he had no good feelings towards the Brunei royal family who were indulged in wine, this incident also showed China that Prabowo had already raised a poisonous snake.

  The Chinese government, which had a secret agreement with the United States, comforted the terrified Brunei ambassador while ordering a marine battalion originally preparing to go to the Java war zone to defend Brunei. Of course, before the arrival of the Chinese troops, the Chinese government did not forget to tell Brunei to understand the "jungle rules" and contribute some blood in the reconstruction work in Indonesia, and first pay some "protection fees" to Prabowo personally, so that the capital city of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, would not be burned down by unidentified armed elements before the arrival of Chinese troops.

  As Japanese combat engineers blew up hundreds of military vehicles parked inside and outside Merak port, the last batch of fighting personnel of Japan Self-Defense Force withdrew from the Javanese red earth that swallowed over 9,200 soldiers of Japan Self-Defense Force aboard "Tokiwa", a Kongō-class destroyer of the Escort Flotilla 4 of Maritime Self-Defense Force.

  At the same time, the Chinese Expeditionary Force will also launch a general offensive against Jakarta. Jakarta is known as the largest city in Southeast Asia, with a population of 8.4 million before the war, and was originally a port called Sunda Kelapa, meaning coconut, so local Chinese also call it Coconut City. The Chinese Expeditionary Force's attack on Jakarta will be launched simultaneously from two directions, north and south. The northern attacking group consists of the 77th Marine Corps Brigade and the 22nd Airborne Division of the Chinese Navy, while the southern line is led by the 259th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 171st Air Assault Division of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese Army. In addition, nearly 20,000 local Chinese troops from the Indonesian First Military District will serve as reserve forces.

  The first wave of attacks on the Northern Line targeted the Jakarta port area, where Jakarta is a coastal city and its largest port is Tanjung Priok Artificial Harbour. The coastline has a length of 8,340 meters, with container terminals stretching for 400 meters, oil terminals for 100 meters, and water depth ranging from 5-11 meters. Annual throughput: 6.8 million tons.

  To thoroughly secure the harbor, the Chinese Navy used naval gunfire to conduct a large-scale firepower preparation on the port area's in-depth streets. "In Jakarta there is no distinction between regular defense forces and civilians, every living Javanese is an enemy." Colonel Sun Lijun, who commanded this ground fire support, said as above before the attack began.

  It's not that Chinese soldiers are bloodthirsty and cold-blooded, but rather all the signs indicate that Jakarta has become the largest madhouse in human history. In the continuous days of mutual slaughter, those who are still alive in the city have already become violent mobs with bloodshot eyes. They are the most terrifying opponents in this city - familiar with the terrain, fearless of artillery fire, and without any concept of retreat.

  A 30-minute artillery preparation created a 2-kilometer-wide firebreak south of Jakarta's port area, and a large number of Chinese naval marines boarded assault boats and Indonesian Navy's small inshore defense vessels to launch a wave of assaults. There were still sporadic firing points on the dock, "Damn it! There are really fearless ones, hit them hard." On board an Indonesian Navy "Lion"-class torpedo boat, Yang Guoying commanded newly enlisted ethnic Chinese sailors to use the 57mm rapid-fire cannon on the boat to suppress the enemy's firepower.

  In the south, the Chinese army launched attacks on both internal and external fronts. To alleviate the growing population pressure, the Indonesian government began to develop the Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-Bekasi area in 1976 as a satellite city of Jakarta to disperse the population of Jakarta.

  After the Japanese Self-Defense Forces arrived, they built these satellite cities into fortresses to defend Jakarta. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces left these fortifications intact when they withdrew. The mobs of Jakarta flocked to them to resist the Chinese Expeditionary Force. While the 259th Mechanized Infantry Regiment removed the outer fortifications one by one, the 171st Airborne Strike Regiment entered the inner line and parachuted to occupy Jakarta's only remaining large airport, Halim Airport, located southeast of Jakarta.