Chapter 31: The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Part 1)

  Taiwan then announced that it would enter a state of emergency in preparation for the war that could break out at any time, and the Nanjing Military Region on the mainland also declared first-level combat readiness. The torpedo boats of the East Sea Fleet were urgently dispatched to patrol. For a time, the sea area near the Ryukyu Islands was shrouded in the shadow of war, making some people who had just emerged from the shadow of World War II even more painful, and human peace was once again overshadowed.

  The US Ambassador to China had an emergency meeting with Premier Zhou Enlai, but the outcome of the meeting left the ambassador in a gloomy mood. From Premier Zhou's conversation, the ambassador sensed China's strong desire to recover the Ryukyu Islands, even if it means going to war.

  Of course, the US government is not worried about this point. After all, the Chinese navy is too weak and can't even compare to the Japanese navy, let alone the US Navy. What the ambassador is really worried about is a conflict between China and Japan, which would be a great test of America's political wisdom. Should the US continue to strengthen its alliance with Japan or support China in recovering lost territory in order to gain China's support to counterbalance the Soviet Union?

  "Lin Feng, what do you think the US will do to resolve this crisis? From the perspective of its own national interests, it definitely hopes to hand over the Ryukyu Islands to Japan rather than returning them to us China. However, it also does not want a war to break out between China and Japan, because once China and Japan go to war, the US itself will inevitably be drawn into it, which is something the US does not want to see. After all, from a global strategic perspective, the US's main opponent is still the Soviet Union, and it will not engage in intense conflict with us at this time." Chiang Ching-kuo asked.

  Lin Feng smiled and said: "This time, no matter what the US does, taking advantage of the US putting its main energy in Europe to defend against the Soviet Union, we must recover Ryukyu and thoroughly cripple Japan. Japan is always an insatiable white-eyed wolf, and for China to establish prestige in Asia, Japan is the chicken we need to kill."

  Chiang Ching-kuo asked hesitantly: "Since we know that the US will definitely support Japan, why do we still want to go to war with Japan? If the Americans also get involved in the war and send troops, won't we be defeated for sure?"

  The current US has the world's most powerful navy, with eleven aircraft carrier battle groups and nearly two thousand combat aircraft. This is something that even the Soviet Union, which had a more comprehensive national power than the US, could not match. Therefore, Chiang Ching-kuo believed that if the US were to enter the war, China would undoubtedly lose, and this was not unreasonable.

  Lin Feng said lightly, "Don't worry, the US intervening is inevitable, but we must recover the Ryukyu Islands at all costs. Moreover, the US will not fully intervene in this conflict, after all, it has just experienced a loss in Vietnam and needs to consider domestic morale. The most likely scenario is that the US provides equipment and technical support to arm Japan, waits for Japan to defeat China, and then comes out to clean up the mess. In the end, China may be forced to accept Japan's occupation of the Ryukyu Islands due to pressure. This is because the Americans are well aware of the weakness of our Chinese navy, whether it's the mainland or Taiwan, which can only be described as a water army. Based on this point, the US government is not very concerned about the Sino-Japanese conflict, but rather hopes that we and Japan will become embroiled in a war, so they can reap the benefits."

  Chiang Ching-kuo paused for a moment and said: "So, it seems that the United States will provide limited support to Japan. Even so, we won't be at ease, and at critical moments, we still need to guard against the US Seventh Fleet intervening. It would be best if we had two more years before going to war with Japan. By the second half of next year, we will complete our five-year economic plan ahead of schedule, and per capita income will reach $1,500. Although this is far lower than developed countries, if we have two more years, Taiwan's economic momentum will be unleashed, and per capita income will double in two years. Moreover, our new warships have just been put into service and need time to form combat effectiveness."

  "In two years, our navy will have four missile cruisers, six missile destroyers, two attack submarines and one strategic submarine. We may not be without the strength to fight a war with the US Seventh Fleet. Now our navy is only equipped with two destroyers and one cruiser, and the cruiser has just been in service for less than a week. With our current strength, it's fundamentally impossible to challenge the US Seventh Fleet."

  What Chiang Kai-shek said, didn't Li Feng understand? He was very clear about the true situation of the Chinese Navy, not to mention the mainland. Even the Taiwanese Navy only started modernizing and upgrading in the past two years. He wanted to wait for the Chinese Navy's strength to increase before going to war with Japan. However, this time the initiative is no longer on China's side, but rather depends on what the US and Japan want to do.

  Lin Feng thought for a moment and said: "Let's cooperate with the mainland side, let them put pressure on the United States, temporarily gain two years of time, and then fight a decisive battle with Japan after two years."

  Two weeks later, Beijing spread the news that Premier Zhou Enlai had postponed his meeting with the new US Secretary of State Kissinger and temporarily terminated negotiations on resource export agreements with Japan. In addition, Zhu De, Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army, also canceled his talks with the US Defense Minister and announced that the PLA would guarantee national territorial integrity at all costs. Subsequently, General Xu Shiyou, Commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and Admiral Xiao Jinguang, Commander of the Navy, jointly announced that in the next two months, the Nanjing Military Region and the Navy would conduct an island landing exercise in the East China Sea. This series of high-level statements from the mainland showed the world the determination of the Chinese people to maintain national unity and territorial integrity.

  As war looms between China and Japan, the world holds its breath. The major powers actively intervene among China, the US, and Japan, hoping to resolve this crisis. In the end, under the mediation of Britain, France, Germany, and others, China, the US, and Japan temporarily reach an agreement: within two years, the US will not hand over the Ryukyu Islands to Japan. Everyone knows that this is only a temporary suppression of the contradictions between the two sides, and after two years, the contradictions will erupt in an even more intense collision.

  The Japanese side itself was not well-prepared for the war with China and did not make war preparations, so the Japanese government quickly agreed to sign this agreement. After consulting with Lin Feng, the Chinese mainland also agreed. Although the relationship between China, the US, and Japan is tense, economic exchanges between them are still frequent. The Japanese side insists on paying war reparations, which is not because they keep their promises, but because they need to import various raw materials from China for war preparations. At the same time, China's economic construction also needs a large amount of financial support. Previously, Premier Zhou had called to ask if it was necessary to sever relations with Japan, and Lin Feng vetoed it.

  Lin Feng held a large number of super weapons and was not afraid of Japan at all. At the last moment, Lin Feng even planned to use small nuclear weapons, with these trump cards he didn't care about Japan's conventional war reserves. Although the East China Sea has returned to calm again, the undercurrents are still surging.

  On January 11, 1974, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China issued a statement condemning the South Vietnamese authorities for their wanton infringement on China's territorial sovereignty and reiterating that China has territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Dongsha Islands. The Chinese Government will never tolerate any infringement by the South Vietnamese authorities on China's territorial sovereignty.

  On January 15, 1974, South Vietnam, disregarding China's warnings and with the tacit support of the United States, sent destroyer No. 16 ("Le Cong Jie") to invade the waters around Yongle Islands in the Xisha Islands, provoking Chinese fishing boats No. 402 and No. 407 operating near Ganquan Island, unreasonably demanding that they leave the waters around Ganquan Island and shelling Ganquan Island; on January 17-18, it again dispatched destroyer No. 4 ("Chen Qingyou"), No. 5 ("Chen Pingzhong") and escort gunboat No. 10 ("Nu Tao") to invade the above-mentioned waters, occupying Jin Yin and Ganquan Islands, attempting to use them as a base for further occupation of other islands.

  After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, French forces were expelled and Coral Island was returned to the government of South Vietnam. By 1973, the army of South Vietnam had occupied six islands in China's Nansha and Xisha Islands.

  In January 1973, the United States withdrew its troops from Vietnam according to the Paris Agreement. Before the withdrawal, more than a dozen ships and other equipment were handed over to the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), which greatly increased the strength of the South Vietnamese Navy. As the situation on land in Vietnam was relatively stable that year, South Vietnam had the energy to launch an invasion against China.

  In the face of South Vietnam's aggressive actions, to defend national territorial sovereignty and counterattack the invading army of South Vietnam, the People's Liberation Army Navy South Sea Fleet was ordered to dispatch submarine chasers 271 and 274 to form a fleet, under the cover of the fleet's air force, on January 17th sailed to the Xisha Yongle Islands sea area to carry out patrol tasks, protecting Chinese fishing boats' safe production.

  On the 18th, mine-sweeping ships 389 and 396 also rushed to the Yongle Sea area, joining the patrol fleet; anti-submarine boats 281 and 282 were deployed on Yongxing Island in the Xunde Islands, ready to support the patrol fleet at any time. In order to support the combat of the People's Liberation Army Navy, the Kuomintang side in Taiwan coordinated with the mainland and prepared a combat fleet consisting of one missile cruiser, two missile destroyers, and a battalion of marines to head to the Xisha Sea area.

  This is also the first time that the Taiwanese Navy has participated in actual combat after military reform. Although the training time of the Taiwanese Navy is relatively short, Lin Feng always believes that no matter how good the training is, it can't compare to the effect of actual combat testing. Moreover, so many advanced equipment, if not tested in actual combat, would ultimately be unreliable.

  This time, the Xisha Sea Battle is a rare challenge for the Chinese Navy. Moreover, Lin Feng wants to strengthen military cooperation with the mainland through this action, which is in the interest of the entire Chinese nation. The South Vietnamese Navy is powerful against the mainland navy, but for Lin Feng's personally crafted Taiwanese Navy, he doesn't even put the opponent in his eyes. Lin Feng believes that after this sea battle, the strength of the Chinese Navy will be further enhanced, and this sea battle can also be seen as a prelude to the Sino-Japanese Sea Battle, and later this sea battle is hailed as the beginning of the rise of the Chinese Navy.