Chapter 17: The Timing of Declaring War (Part 2)

  "Spears at the ready, launch in pairs."

  Chen Xinhai's arm swung forward with force, and a huge flame rose from the missile launcher at the rear of the small boat. And on the smoky sea surface, not far from the "Haiying", the same light flickered. That was the "Hailong" and the "Yuqi" of the Victory class, which were advancing in formation with the "Haiying".

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  "Incoming missile." On the Indian Navy's "Madurai" destroyer, located at the forefront of the fleet, the air defense alarm sounded, and the radar quickly indicated the direction of the incoming threat - a total of 6 Harpoons. The Russian-made 12-unit vertical launch system deployed in the forepart of the warship rapidly launched 12 Russian "Shtil" 9M317ME ship-to-air missiles towards the incoming anti-ship missile.

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  "Don't underestimate the Singaporeans, let them taste the power of the Indian Navy." Captain Garg sat calmly in his cabin. After all, for a long time, the Indian Navy had been intercepting Pakistan's "Harpoon" anti-ship missiles as its main air defense exercise. So now, Garg was already thinking about what kind of results he would get after launching the PJ-10 BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from his warship.

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  "Interception result: all 6 targets hit."

  The sailors on the bridge of INS Madurai gazed proudly at the distant sky, where several bright spots were flashing. "Not yet...," a terrified voice called out. Everyone's eyes turned back to the radar screen. Three faint but rapidly approaching blips appeared on the screen - three supersonic sea-skimming missiles of unknown type.

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  There was no time left for the Indian sailors to sigh, and the Kashtan CIWS on the Madurai had already started rumbling, with 2 six-barreled 30mm cannons and 8 SA-N-11 missiles simultaneously pointing at the sky, forming an impassable wall of fire.

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  One of the incoming supersonic missiles was hit and turned into a dazzling fireball in the sky, but the remaining two broke through Kashstan's interception. One hit the bow of Madurai, and the heavy A-19O 100mm cannon was blown up by exploding ammunition tens of meters high. The other one hit the bridge, and a huge fireball instantly engulfed the entire upper structure of the warship.

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  The ill-fated "Madurai" stayed afloat for less than 20 minutes before sinking in the waves of Malacca. The accompanying Godavari-class guided missile frigate, INS Ganga, gave up the chase of the Singaporean missile boat squadron which had turned south and quickly combed the sea to look for survivors from the "Madurai".

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  "Madurai" was the first warship sunk by the Indian Navy since the outbreak of hostilities. Its sinking once made the missile boat squadron of the Singapore Navy famous, and Chen Xinhai, the captain of the "Sea Eagle" who was considered a hero for sinking the "Madurai", received an award from the Singapore Navy at Changi Naval Base that evening. He was awarded the First Class Order of Temasek of Singapore.

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  However, according to the recollections of Indian sailors who served on INS Madurai after the incident, the Indian military generally believed that it was not the Singapore Navy that sank the Madurai. However, there is no conclusive evidence to prove that the "real culprit" was someone else. Meanwhile, beneath the turbulent waters of the strait, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Song-class conventional powered submarine was slowly moving eastward...

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  In a not-so-dense tropical jungle on the outskirts of George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Indian Navy Lieutenant Zidan Balram and 7 soldiers from F Company were crawling through the underbrush, tensely watching the figures moving in the dilapidated houses not far away under the scorching sun.

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  Zidan Baraam and his soldiers had been on the island of Penang for 14 days, with continuous guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines. Even the most elite special forces were nearing their physical limits at this point. "A small squad of Malaysian infantry. No armored vehicles escorting them." Zidan Baraam licked his dry lips and put down the binoculars he had been tightly gripping.

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  In the first few days of the operation, Zidan Balaram and his colleagues' actions went relatively smoothly. The Indian Navy commandos once occupied two-thirds of the area of Penang City and controlled the cross-sea highway bridge connecting the Malay Peninsula to Penang Island - Penang Bridge.

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  However, the main force of the Malaysian Army soon arrived and quickly overran the weak Indian naval commando defensive line. After four days of continuous isolated battles

  The Indian Navy commandos suffered more than half casualties and were forced to withdraw from the urban area of Penang, turning to guerrilla warfare in the jungle suburbs.

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  But with the large-scale landing of the Indian Army in southern Malaya, the Malaysian army's clearing operation on Penang Island also gradually became weaker. The regular Malaysian army that was fighting in groups was slowly disappearing from the battlefield. It seems that the Malaysian government has already begun to prepare for abandoning the state of Penang.

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  "Prepare to act." Qidan Baraam made a gesture of preparing for an attack towards his colleagues behind him. Their supplies were almost exhausted. Whether it was food or weapons, they could only be sustained through battlefield spoils. It wasn't until now that Qidan Baraam truly understood what it meant to fight for survival.

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  Ever since he lost his original Indian-made FNFAL automatic rifle in the last encounter, Zidan Baraam has been using a captured Malaysian M16A2 automatic rifle. He slowly raised the rifle and aimed at one of the Malaysian soldiers walking towards him, pulling the trigger with force.

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  The bullet accurately pierced the target's steel helmet, and a magnificent blood flower burst in mid-air. With a gunshot, the remaining 7 Indian Navy commandos also rushed out of the woods with loud shouts, only two of them holding fully loaded assault rifles, while the rest were using spare handguns.

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  "Armored vehicle." The battle had just begun, and a faint engine sound shattered the dreams of victory for Zidanbaram. Although it was only a British Stormer armored transport vehicle, to the Indian Navy commandos who lacked anti-armor capabilities, it was no different from a harbinger of death. The armored vehicle slowly emerged from its hiding alley. 25mm chain guns fired densely, and two Indian Navy commando soldiers were immediately turned into sieves.

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  "My god..."

  Watching his subordinates being densely shot by bullets on both sides of the road, Qidan Baraam could only attract the firepower of the opponent's armored vehicle with continuous bursts.

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  Another Indian Navy commando was flushed out of cover by Malaysian soldiers and shot dead. Zidan Baram could no longer bear it, he shouted loudly and rushed into the thicket. At this moment, he only thought of dying with the soldiers together.

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  A rocket-propelled grenade came out of the sky and turned a Malaysian armored vehicle into a burning hunk of metal. Two Indian Navy "Cheetah" light helicopters whizzed past the helpless Qidanbaram's head, just above the treetops. Behind them, several "Sea King" helicopters loaded with Indian Navy commandos were thundering in for a landing.

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  "Thanks, I'm Lieutenant Habib of the Rajiv Gandhi Carrier Strike Group's Amphibious Assault Squadron. How many are you?" A neatly dressed Indian naval officer jumped out of the helicopter and shouted loudly at Zidanbalaram who was standing stupidly amidst the whirring sound of the rotor blades.

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