Sky Masters Read online

  formation and could easily be expanded and fortified-it would be an even

  larger island than Spratly Island itself. If Yin was tasked to pick an

  island to occupy and fortify, he would pick Phu Qui. So might someone

  else. . "Send Wenshan and Xingyi to investigate the contact, " Yin

  ordered. "Rotate Manning north to take Wenshan '5 position." Manning

  was the other Hainan-class patrol boat acting as "rover" in Yin's patrol

  group. Captain Lubu acknowledged the order and relayed the instructions

  to his officer of the deck for transmission to the Wenshan. Yin, who had

  been in the People's Liberation Army Navy practically all of his life,

  was proud of the instincts he'd honed during his loyal career. He

  trusted them. And now, somewhere deep down in his gut, those instincts

  told him this was going to be trouble. Granted, Phu Qui Island, and

  even the Spratlys themselves, seemed the most unlikely place to expect

  trouble. The Spratlys-called Nansha Dao, the Lonely Islands, in

  Chinese-were a collection of reefs, atolls, and semisubmerged islands in

  the middle of the South China Sea, halfway between Vietnam and the

  Philippines and several hundred kilometers south of China. The

  fifty-five major surface formations of the Spratlys were dotted with

  shipwrecks, attesting to the high degree of danger involved when

  navigating in the area. Normally, such a deathtrap as the Spratlys

  would be given a wide berth. Centuries ago Chinese explorers had

  discovered that the Nansha Dao was a treasure trove of minerals-gold,

  iron, copper, plus traces or indications of dozens of other metals-as

  well as gems and other rarities. Since the islands were right on the sea

  lanes between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, the "round-eyes"

  eventually found them, and the English named them the Spratlys after the

  commander of a British warship who "discovered" them in the eighteenth

  century. It was the British who discovered oil in the Spratlys and

  began tapping it. Unfortunately, the British had not yet developed the

  technology to successfully and economically drill for oil in the

  weatherbeaten islands, so the islands were abandoned for safer and more

  lucrative drilling sites in Indonesia and Malaysia. As time progressed,

  several nations-Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines-all tried to

  develop the islands as a major stopover port for sea traffic. But it

  was following World War II that the Chinese considered the Spratlys as

  well as everything else in the South China Sea as their territory. As

  oil-drilling platforms, fishing grounds, and mining operations began to

  proliferate, the Chinese, aided by the North Vietnamese, who acted as a

  surrogate army for their Red friends, began vigorously patrolling the

  area. During the Vietnam War radar sites and radio listening posts on

  Spratly Island allowed the Vietcong and China to detect and monitor

  every vessel and aircraft heading from the Philippines to Saigon,

  including American B-52 bombers on strike missions into North Vietnam.

  But the most powerful navy in the postwar world, the United States Navy,

  exerted the greatest tangible influence over the Spratly Islands.

  Through its sponsorship, the government of the Philippines began

  patrolling the islands, eradicating the Vietnamese espionage units and

  using the islands as a base of operations for controlling access to the

  western half of the South China Sea. The Chinese had been effectively

  chased away from the Spratlys, ending five hundred years of dominance

  there. That became a very sore point for the Chinese. After the Vietnam

  War, the American presence weakened substantially, which allowed first

  the Vietnamese Navy, and then the Chinese Navy, to return to the Spratly

  Islands. But the Philippines still maintained their substantial

  American-funded military presence there, although they had ceded most of

  the southern islands to China and Vietnam. The lines had been drawn. The

  Philippines claimed the thirty atolls north of the nine degrees, thirty

  minutes north latitude, and the territory in between was a sort of

  neutral zone. Things were relatively quiet for about ten years

  following the Vietnam War. But in the late 1 980s conflict erupted

  again. During the war, Vietnam had accepted substantial assistance from

  the Soviet Union in exchange for Russian use of the massive Cam Rahn

  naval base and airbase, which caused a break in relations between China

  and Vietnam. Vietnam, now trained and heavily armed by the Soviet

  Union, was excluding Chinese vessels from the oil and mineral mining

  operations in the Spratlys. Several low-scale battles broke out. It

  was discovered that the Soviet Union was not interested in starting a

  war with China to help Vietnam hold the Spratlys, so China moved in and

  regained the control they had lost forty years earlier. Faced with

  utter destruction, the Vietnamese Navy withdrew, content to send an

  occasional reconnaissance flight over the region. That was when Admiral

  Yin Po L'un had been assigned his Spratly Island flotilla. To his way

  of thinking, these were not the Spratlys, or the Quan-Dao Mueng Bang as

  the Vietnamese called them-these were the Nansha Dao, property of the

  PeopIes Republic of China. China had built a hard-surfaced runway on

  Spratly Island and had reinforced some stronger reefs and atolls around

  it enough to create naval support facilities. Their claim was stronger

  than any other nation. Several other nations had protested the

  militarization of Spratly Island, but no one had done anything more than

  talk. To Admiral Yin, it was only a matter of time before all of the

  Nansha Dao returned to Chinese control. But the Filipino Navy, such as

  it was, still held very tight control over their unofficially designated

  territory. Yin's job was to patrol the region, map out all sea traffic,

  and report on any new construction or attempts to move oil-drilling

  platforms, fish-processing vessels, or mining operations in the neutral

  zone or in the Philippine sector. He was also to report on any

  movements of the Philippine Navy's major vessels in the area and to

  constantly position his forces to confront and defeat the Filipino

  pretenders should hostilities erupt. Not that the Filipino Navy was a

  substantial threat to the Chinese Navy-far from it. The strongest of

  the Filipino ships patrolling the Spratly Islands were forty-year-old

  frigates, corvettes, radar picket ships, and subchasers, held together

  by coats of paint and prayers. Still, a threat to Yin's territory-no

  matter whom it was from-was a threat, in his mind, to all of China.

  Thirty minutes later, Yin's task force had closed to within nine miles

  of the contact while Wenshan and Xingyi had closed to within one mile;

  Yin positioned his ships so that he could maintain direct, scrambled

  communications with his two patrol boats but stay out of sight of the

  contact. "Dragon, this is Seven, " the skipper aboard Wenshan, Captain

  Han, radioed back to Admiral Yin. "I have visual contact. The target

  is an oil derrick. It appears to be mounted or anchored atop Phu Qui

  Island. It is surrounded by se
veral supply barges with pipes on board,

  and two tugboats are nearby. There may be armed crewmen on deck. They

  are flying no national flags, but there does appear to be a company flag

  flying. We are moving closer to investigate. Request permission to

  raise the derrick on radio." So his instincts had been right An oil

  derrick in the neutral zone? How dare they place an oil derrick on

  Chinese property." Yin turned to Lubu. "I want the transmissions

  relayed to us. Permission granted to hail the derrick. Tell Captain

  Han to warn the crew that they will be attacked if they do not remove

  that derrick from the neutral zone immediately." A few moments later,

  Yin heard Han's warning: "Attention, attention the oil derrick on Phu

  Qui Island. This is the People's Republic of China frigate Wenshan on

  international hailing channel nine. Respond immediately. Over."

  Captain Han on Wenshan was speaking in excellent English, the universal

  sailors language even in this part of the world, and Yin had to struggle

  to keep up with the conversation. He made a mental note to congratulate

  Han on his resourcefulness-the Wenshan was not a frigate, but if the

  crew of the oil derrick believed that it was, they might be less

  inclined to resist and more inclined to follow orders. "Frigate Wenshan,

  this is the National Oil Company Barge Nineteen on channel nine. We

  read you loud and clear. Over." Admiral Yin seethed. The National Oil

  Company. That was a Philippine company run by a relative of the new

  Philippine president, Arturo Mikaso, and headquartered in Manila. Worse,

  it was financed by and operated mostly by rich Texas oil drillers.

  American capitalists who obviously thought they could, in their

  typically imperialistic way, just set up an oil derrick anywhere they

  pleased. The audacity. To even attempt to build a derrick in a neutral

  zone. And Yin knew it wasn't really neutral at all. It was Chinese

  territory. And the Americans and the Filipinos were trying to rape it.

  "National Oil Barge Nineteen, " Han continued, "you are violating

  international agreements that prohibit any private or commercial mineral

  exploration or facilities in this area. You are ordered to remove all

  equipment immediately and vacate the area. You will receive no further

  warnings. Comply immediately. Over."

  "Vessel Wenshan, we are involved in search and salvage operations at

  this time, " a new voice on the radio, young and at ease, replied.

  "Salvage operations are permitted in international waters. We are not

  aware of any international agreements involving these waters. You may

  contact the Philippine or American governments for clarification."

  "National Oil Barge Nineteen, commercial operations in these waters are

  a direct threat to the national security and business interests of the

  People's Republic of China, " Captain Han replied. He knew that Admiral

  Yin would not approve of his debating like this over the radio-he was a

  soldier, Yin would tell him, not a scum-sucking politician-but he wasn't

  going to move a meter closer to the Philippine oil derrick unless

  everyone on board understood why. "You are ordered to discontinue all

  operations immediately or I will take action." There was no further

  reply from the barge crew. "HF radio traffic from the barge, sir, "

  Lubu said, relaying a report from his Radio section. "They may be

  contacting headquarters." Contacting headquarters? There was no reason

  for the people on the drilling platform to do anything other than

  dismantle. And to do it immediately. Yin shook his head in disbelief.

  And anger. China had been forced to cede an island chain that was

  rightly theirs, forced to set up a neutral zone and allow free

  navigation in the area, only to have it thrown back in their faces. The

  arrogance! "This is unacceptable!" Yin spat. "Any idiot knows this is

  Chinese territory, whether this is called neutral territory or not. How

  dare they "We can relay a message to Headquarters and report the

  violation, sir. Yin bristled. "This is not a mere violation, Lubu. This

  is an act of aggression! They know full well that the neutral zone is

  off-limits to all commercial activity, and that includes salvage

  operations-if indeed that is what they are really doing. This task

  force will not sit idly by while these bastards ignore international law

  and challenge my authority." Lubu had not seen his Admiral this angry in

  a very long time. "Sir, if we are seriously considering an armed

  response, perhaps Headquarters... Admiral Yin cut him off. "These

  people aren't worth the aggravation of an explanation. Have you

  forgotten that I'm in charge of this area? It is my responsibility to

  protect our territory." Yin shook his head angrily. "The brazenness of

  this is what's so astounding to me. Don't they remember history? Hasn't

  there been enough of their blood shed over these islands? Have they

  gone senile? Well, let's remind them of the full power of this force."

  Yin turned to Lubu. "Captain, relay to Captain Han on Wenshan: 'You are

  ordered to move within one thousand meters of the platform so as to

  provide sufficient lighting and covering fire from your deck guns, then

  dispatch a boarding crew to take the captain, officers, and other

  personnel on board the derrick into custody. After the crew is removed

  from the barge, you will destroy the entire facility with heavy gunfire.

  'To Xingyi: have them move closer and be ready to assist. To the rest

  of this task group: 'go to general quarters." Relay the messages and

  execute."

  "Number-one launch is manned and ready, sir, " the officer 0f( the deck

  reported. "The chief reports davits for launch number three are fouled;

  he recommends switching to launch four."

  "So ordered. I want that launch freed up as soon as possible. Have

  other launches checked and report status to me immediately." Han wasn't

  going to say why-he was afraid they might need the damned launches for

  themselves. A few minutes later, with the ~nshan barely maintaining a

  close and comfortable position away from Phu Qui Island, the motor

  launches were lowered overboard. Each wooden launch, forty feet long

  and eight feet wide, carried a crew of three and eight sailors armed

  with AK-47 look-alike Type 56 rifles and sidearms. The launches were

  only a few dozen meters away from the Wenshan when the world seemed to

  explode for Admiral Yin, Captain Han, Captain Lubu, and the rest of the

  task force. The engines on the Wenshan had been racing back and forth in

  response to the helmsman's attempts to hold the ship's position steady.

  Han had been watching the number-four motor launch moving away from the

  ship and did not hear his crewman's warning: "Shoal water! Depth three

  meters . . depth two meters... depth under the keel decreasing." From

  the barges on Phu Qui Island, bullets began pelting the starboard side

  of the Wenshan as the crewman aboard the oil-derrick barges fired on the

  approaching launches and at the Wenshan itself. Captain Han had not

  heard the shoal-water warning. He ran back into the bridge. "Radio to

  Hong Lung, we are under fire from
the oil barges. "Captain, depth under

  the keel...!" Suddenly the Wenshan was pushed laterally toward the

  island and struck a coral outcropping surrounding Phu Qui Island. The

  patrol boat heeled sharply to starboard, the sudden, crunching stop

  flinging every crewman on the bridge off his feet. The gusting winds

  only served to push the Wenshan harder against the coral, and although

  the brittle calcium formations gave way immediately under the

  four-hundred-ton ship, the sound of straining steel combined with the

  howling winds and the cries of the surprised crewmen made it seem like

  the end of the world was at hand. The officer of the deck had raised his

  headset microphone to his lips and shouted, "Comm, bridge, relay to Hong

  Lung, we are under fire, we are under fire.. ." Then amid the tearing

  and crunching sounds: "We have hit the reef, we have hit the reef." But

  the message transmitted to the rest of the task force group by the

  startled and terrified radioman was, Wenshan to Hong Lung, we are under

  fire. . . we have been hit." ABOARD THE FLAGSHIP HONG LUNG When the

  warning from the Wenshan pierced the air in the bridge of the Hong Lung,

  Admiral Yin spun on his heels to Captain Lubu and shouted, "Order

  Wenshan and Xingyi to open fire, full missile and gun salvo." Lubu

  wasn't going to question this order-he had been fearing just such an

  occurrence. He quickly relayed the command to his officer of the deck.

  Seconds later the stormy night sky erupted with flashes of light and

  streaks of fire off in the distance. Using their sophisticated Round

  Ball fire-control radar, the fast attack craft Kingyi had maintained a

  continuous attack solution on the barges with their Fei Lung-7

  surface-to-surface missiles. As soon as the warning cry had been issued

  by Captain Han on Wenshan, Captain Miliyan on Xingyi had ordered all

  missiles and guns made ready for action. When he received the message

  from Admiral Yin, the Fei Lung guided missiles were in the air. The

  Flying Dragon missiles received initial course guidance from the Round

  Ball targeting radar, and a small booster engine ignited that punched

  the twenty.two-hundred-pound missile out of its storage canister. After

  flying a hundred yards away from the ship, the big second-stage