Chapter 8: The Stormy Weather of Diaoyu Island (Part 1)

  "Alright, Secretary Li has arrived. We can start the meeting now. Mr. Bo Cong, please brief everyone on the situation." Jiang said to Foreign Minister Wei Daoming as Lin Feng walked in. (Wei Daoming, also known as Bo Cong, was a native of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province and a politician and diplomat of the Republic of China.)

  Wei Daoming first took a glance at the young assistant who had recently become famous in Taiwan, then briefly and concisely introduced the situation: "On June 3rd, 1969, at 2 pm, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force drove away our fishing boat near Diaoyu Island, causing one of our fishing boats to be destroyed and two people injured. The injured fishermen are currently receiving treatment. As for how we will respond next, it also involves Americans." Wei Daoming asked after finishing speaking, looking at Jiang Mouren.

  Jiang didn't answer Wei Daoming, but instead looked at his own son "Jingguo, what do you think about this? That little Japanese devil is really something"

  Chiang Ching-kuo thought for a moment before responding: "This time, the Japanese action must have been approved by the Americans. Otherwise, little Japan wouldn't be so bold. Recently, I heard that there are rich oil resources in the waters near Diaoyu Island, which is like a timely rain for resource-poor Japan. I think this is just the prelude to Japan's control of Diaoyu Island. If we China don't make a strong counterattack, Japan's actions will become more and more brazen, completely controlling Diaoyu Island and then controlling the rich oil resources on the seafloor."

  "Hmm, hmm, not bad," Jiang was quite satisfied with his son's grasp of the overall situation. "Assistant Li, what are your thoughts on this?"

  Lin Feng first greeted everyone present and said: "I agree with Vice President Chiang's opinion, this time we must go all out to make a painful blow to the Japanese enemy's arrogance, let the people know that this is our another anti-Japanese war. Even if it means going to war with Japan, it's worth it, in fact, this time is also a rare opportunity for us."

  Admiral Feng Qicong furrowed his brow and said, "If war were to break out, the focus would be on naval battles, but my navy's strength is far inferior to Japan's. Moreover, we still can't grasp the true intentions of the Americans. However, judging from the current situation, it's likely that the Americans are in cahoots with the Japanese, which means we'll be facing a Japan backed by the US on our own. Even if the Americans don't openly participate in the war between us and Japan, once they cut off our supply of weapons and ammunition, we might fall into an irretrievable situation."

  Minister of National Defense Huang Jie continued: "Mr. President, our navy has been reorganized since 1952 and has established fleets for patrol, minesweeping, landing, logistics and other purposes. We have also received retired US naval vessels to expand our fleet. The main strength of our current navy is as follows: 7 fleets with a total of 99 ships of various types, totaling approximately 139,000 tons; 6 boat teams with a total of 377 boats of various types, totaling approximately 17,000 tons; 13 anti-submarine aircraft and 15 amphibious assault aircraft for the Marine Corps; 2 Marine Corps divisions; and a total strength of approximately 75,000 personnel."

  In May 1948, the Japanese government established the Maritime Safety Agency. In April 1952, the Maritime Guard was formed under the Maritime Safety Agency. The same year in August, the Security Agency was established and the Maritime Guard was transferred to it, renamed the Guard Corps, and two local corps were organized in Yokosuka and Maizuru. In April 1953, the First Fleet Group was formed with nine escort vessels. In August of the same year, the Second Fleet Group was formed with one escort vessel and twelve landing support boats. Two new local corps were established in September: Suminoe and Ominato.

  In April 1954, the 3rd Fleet Group was formed. On July 1, 1954, the Security Bureau was renamed the Defense Agency, and the Maritime Guard was renamed the Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy). The Joint Fleet was newly established, and the original 1st and 2nd Fleet Groups were renamed the 1st and 2nd Escort Flotillas. The 3rd Fleet Group was renamed the 1st Warning Squadron (which was disbanded in April 1957). At the same time, local units were established, and a minesweeping flotilla was formed. By then, the Navy had taken shape, with 15,000 personnel, 157 vessels of various types, 585,000 tons, and nearly 50 aircraft of various types.

  In September 1961, the 3rd Escort Squadron was established. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Escort Squadrons were formed into a Guard Ship Fleet. An Aviation Group was newly established, an Education Aviation Group was established, and a Training Fleet was established.

  In 1971, the 4th Escort Corps was newly formed under the Escort Fleet. Currently, the Japanese Navy has formed one joint fleet, five local fleets, one educational air group, and one training fleet. The main weapons and equipment of the Maritime Guard are mostly provided by the US military, and some are auxiliary ships inherited from the old navy. Among them, 82.2% were US-aided vessels, and 17.8% were old naval vessels. All aircraft were US-aided.

  "In 1954, it began to independently develop warships, aircraft and other weapon equipment. The fleet was formed in 1954 and expanded once in 1961. It is mainly composed of one escort fleet, one aviation group, one submarine fleet, two mine-sweeping flotillas, five development guidance flotillas and other directly affiliated troops, with about 80 ships of various types, totaling about 180,000 tons, accounting for 60% of the total tonnage of naval vessels."

  "It can conduct three-dimensional coordinated operations on the sea, in the air and underwater", is the main force to perform tasks such as anti-submarine escort at sea, blocking enemy landing, blocking straits, and maritime rescue.

  After hearing Huang Jie's words, everyone present felt very sad. The difference in naval power between China and Japan was too great, with the Japanese Navy being about ten times that of Taiwan's.

  Lin Feng didn't say much afterwards, just listening to everyone's speeches. However, most people were still worried about the Americans, but Jiang Mouren wasn't very worried. Firstly, he was very clear about Lin Feng's background and had an ace up his sleeve, so there was no need to be afraid. Secondly, he didn't have to face pressure from the Americans anymore.

  Historically, under the pressure of the Americans, Chiang had to give up the opportunity to control Diaoyu Island and the Ryukyu Islands because at that time Chiang faced not only Japan but also the pressure from the mainland. In the end, he chose to cooperate with the US to counter the mainland, thereby giving up Diaoyu Island.

  However, due to Lin Feng's efforts, the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China has eased significantly recently, especially after Taiwan stopped its espionage activities against the mainland.

  After everyone discussed for a while, they didn't come up with any good suggestions. So, Mr. Chiang ordered Chiang Ching-kuo and Lin Feng to chase away the others. "Earlier, there were too many people talking at once, and some things weren't convenient to say. Now you can speak freely," Mr. Chiang said to Lin Feng after everyone else had left.

  Lin Feng smiled slightly and said: "This time, for us, is a rare opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. We want to achieve two goals: first, secretly reach an agreement with the mainland; second, thoroughly defeat Japan and control Diaoyu Island. The fact that the oil resources near Diaoyu Island cannot be extracted by the technical capabilities of countries like England, America, and Japan does not mean we can't do it either. Once we fully grasp the oil resources of Diaoyu Island and combine them with the mineral resources of the moon, we will break free from any country's control and spread our wings to soar."

  Chiang Ching-kuo asked with some doubt: "To achieve these goals, it's probably a bit difficult. What do you plan to do?" Lin Feng quickly took out the plan he had been plotting for a long time, and after an hour of repeated consultations, the three giants finally came up with what seemed like a perfect plan. Next, it depends on the performance of Lin Feng and Chiang Ching-kuo.

  The next day, major Taiwanese newspapers competed to report on the incident of Japanese warships driving away Chinese fishermen from Diaoyu Island. The entire island's population was outraged and demanded that the government send troops to assert sovereignty over Diaoyu Island.

  Foreign media are also paying close attention to the development of this incident, and everyone is guessing how the Chiang government will respond, whether it will yield under pressure from the US government or fiercely resist.

  However, based on past experience, the outside world consistently believes that the Taiwanese authorities are likely to succumb to US pressure and just make a few protest statements.

  On June 4, 1959, at 8:00 am, Lin Feng, dressed in a Sun Yat-sen suit, walked into the press conference hall of the Taiwan government, glanced briefly at the various media outlets below, and calmly said: "Our side strongly condemns and is seriously concerned about the incident that occurred yesterday in the waters near Diaoyu Island, where the Japanese Navy drove away our fishermen without reason. Regarding the Japanese warship's unauthorized entry into our territorial waters, our foreign affairs department has already lodged a protest with the relevant Japanese authorities. From today on, our navy will go to the waters near Diaoyu Island to carry out maritime patrols." After finishing speaking, Lin Feng signaled the host to end the press conference and turned to leave.

  But he left, and the reporters from various countries below went wild because they clearly obtained important information from Lin Feng's speech: The Taiwanese Navy is going to the sea area where the incident occurred. Will a naval battle break out between Taiwan and Japan? This will probably be the most explosive news of 1970. Is there anything more attention-grabbing than war in this world?

  Lin Feng had just returned to the Executive Yuan when US Ambassador to Taiwan, Ma Kung-wei, hastily arrived. As soon as they met, he anxiously said: "I hope you can understand that the US government does not want a conflict between Taiwan and Japan. Regarding the incident near Diaoyu Island, I hope you can handle it in a low-key manner and do not let this incident affect the friendly alliance relationship between the two sides." After finishing speaking, his ox-like eyes stared at Lin Feng, as if to say that he had no choice but to agree.

  Lin Feng was very clear in his mind that at this time, the United States was fully retreating in Asia. The Vietnam War had reached this point, and everyone knew that the United States had failed. Moreover, the US would soon withdraw its troops from Vietnam. At this time, the US military was having a great time fighting with North Vietnam.

  In March 1969 the US military began secretly bombing North Vietnamese military bases in Cambodia; the Battle of Hamburger Hill erupted in May.

  On March 18, 1970, General Lon Nol of Cambodia launched a coup against the government of King Norodom Sihanouk and established the Khmer Republic; in May, with the acquiescence of the Khmer Republic, the United States and the Republic of Vietnam invaded the Khmer Republic to attack North Vietnamese military bases there.

  As a Pacific ally of the United States, including Japan and the Philippines, the Republic of China (Taiwan) had indirect involvement in the war to varying degrees. It is also known that the US Defense Forces once borrowed F-5 fighter jets from the ROC Air Force to enter Vietnam, and deployed an F-4 squadron to Taichung City, filling the gap left by the B-52 bombers at the Taichung Chingchuankang Airport, which was also built to support the bombing campaign.

  In addition, the military advisers, electronic warfare and special agents of the Republic of China were also very active in the Republic of Vietnam. The Embassy of the Republic of China in the Republic of Vietnam was also attacked for this reason. It is generally believed that the Republic of China sent a small number of special forces to fight in Vietnam, but the scale and frequency were not large, with one death.