In the basement of the West Wing, the air was cold and the tension thick as Captain Steve Brackman preceded the president into the Situation Room. Seated on one side of the polished mahogany conference table was Secretary of Defense Nelson Jennings, followed by three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—the chairman and two of the four service chiefs. On the opposite side of the table were Vice President Bob Tompkins, chief of staff Kevin Hardison, and Secretary of State Lindsay Ross. As the president took his seat at the head of the conference table, Brackman slid into the last seat.
The situation couldn’t have been worse. Four hours ago, Chinese missiles had swarmed Taiwan, destroying defense batteries along the coast and military command centers inland. An hour later, the first Chinese troops began landing on the shore of Taiwan. The United States had well-formulated war plans to defend Taiwan, but it would take time to generate the forces required to repel the Chinese invasion. Time they might not have. The speed and ferocity of the Chinese assault were startling.
“What’s the status?” the president asked, looking toward his secretary of defense.
Jennings answered, “China has landed two army groups along the western shore of Taiwan, pushing inland from six beachheads. Taiwan’s navy and air force have been destroyed, along with the bulk of their anti-air batteries, so China has uncontested control of the sky. With the PLA Air Force providing ground support, the outcome is inevitable unless we intervene.”
“How long do we have?”
“Our best estimate is the last Republic of China pocket will collapse in ten days. We’ll have to land Marines or cut off the Chinese supply lines from the mainland before then.”
“What’s our obligation to intervene? Are we committed or do we have a choice?”
“Technically, we have a choice, Mr. President. Under the former Sino-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, we were obligated to defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression. But when we recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979 and terminated formal relations with Taiwan, the Mutual Defense Treaty was replaced with the Taiwan Relations Act. The wording is purposefully ambiguous as to what our obligations are, but Congress’s intent, as well as the position of every administration up to ours, has been clear. The United States will defend Taiwan.
“However, not only has China invaded Taiwan, it appears they have also attacked the United States. We had three fast attack submarines stationed off the Chinese coast, monitoring each of the PLA Navy’s three fleets, and all three of our submarines have likely been sunk. Our SOSUS arrays detected three underwater explosions off the coast where our submarines were stationed, and all three fast attacks have failed to report in.”
The president’s eyes clouded in anger. “How do we respond?”
Jennings answered, “I’d like to refer your question to the chairman, who will outline the current status of the Chinese offensive, then to General Williams and Admiral Healey, who will detail our response.”
After a nod from the president, four-star Army General Mark Hodson, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, seated next to SecDef Jennings, picked up a remote control on the conference table, energizing an eight-by-ten-foot monitor on the far wall, displaying a map of Taiwan overlaid with red and blue icons. “China has committed two army groups, represented by the red squares with Xs through them, to the invasion of Taiwan, landing over one hundred thousand men so far. Opposing them, represented by blue icons, are seventy thousand ROC combat troops. Chinese forces have made substantial progress, completely encircling Taipei City, with China controlling fifteen percent of Taiwan as of 10 A.M. this morning.” Red borders appeared on the screen, outlining the progress of China’s invasion.
“On the naval front,” General Hodson added, “China has sortied seventy-two surface combatants and fifty-eight submarines to sea, with several hundred landing craft ferrying troops across the Strait. In response, we have five carrier strike groups at our disposal in the Pacific—George Washington based in Japan, the Nimitz Strike Group currently eight hundred miles east of Taiwan, with the LANT carrier Lincoln in the Persian Gulf. Vinson and Stennis are departing from their homeports of San Diego and Bremerton. Additionally, every available submarine in the Pacific is heading toward Taiwan.”
Hodson handed the remote control to the Marine Corps four-star General to his left. “General Ely Williams will discuss our amphibious response.”
General Williams pointed the remote at the back wall, and the monitor shifted to a map of the Pacific Ocean. “We have two Marine Expeditionary Forces in the Pacific, ONE MEF based in California and THREE MEF in Okinawa. THREE MEF is loading aboard their amphibious assault ships and should be underway by tonight. ONE MEF will be headed across the Pacific by tomorrow.”
Williams pressed the remote again, and the display zoomed in on the island of Taiwan. “To avoid significant losses to our MEFs as they land, it’s imperative the Republic of China retain control of at least one beachhead.” Eight beachheads on the eastern side of the island illuminated in green. “To ensure Taiwan holds out long enough, we need to provide air support, slowing the Chinese advance. We also need to clear Chinese submarines from the approach lanes to the beachheads. Admiral Grant Healey is responsible for both of those efforts.”
General Williams handed the remote to the four-star Admiral seated next to him, who zoomed the display back out to the entire Pacific Ocean. Another click and red and blue icons appeared, with Chinese units indicated in red and American naval forces represented by blue.
“Our initial goal is to provide air support to ROC ground forces,” Admiral Healey began, “and we’ll do that with Air Force fighter jets from Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, plus the Nimitz and George Washington Carrier Strike Groups operating east of Taiwan. Unfortunately, that places both carriers within range of the Chinese DF-21 ballistic missile, which can disable an aircraft carrier with a single hit. To protect our carriers against the DF-21, Admiral Vance Garbin at Pacific Command has decided to wait until the Nimitz Strike Group joins George Washington, so we have enough Aegis cruisers and destroyers, with their SM-3 missiles, to provide an adequate ballistic missile defense. Of course, their success will depend on the density of the incoming missile barrage.
“As far as submarines go,” Admiral Healey continued, “we have thirty-two fast attacks in the Pacific, but with two in deep maintenance and another three sunk, that leaves us with twenty-seven fast attacks to counter fifty-eight Chinese submarines. The first three fast attacks—Texas, which was already on her way to the Persian Gulf, plus two more submarines surging from Guam, will support George Washington and Nimitz, with the remaining submarines arriving with the other three carrier strike groups. Our submarines will clear a path to Taiwan for the Marine Expeditionary Forces while the carriers provide air cover—and once the MEFs have landed, our strike groups will sweep inside the Strait, cutting off supplies streaming across from the mainland. Without resupply, it will be only a matter of time before the Chinese ground forces are defeated.”
There was a long silence as the president considered the military’s plans. Before he spoke, Captain Brackman broke in. “Sir, there’s one wild card in play.”
The president looked down the table toward Brackman. “What’s that?”
“Christine was detained after a meeting with President Xiang, but escaped to a CIA safe house in Beijing with the assistance of a CIA agent in the Central Guard Bureau’s Cadre Department. In the process, the CIA agent gave her a flash drive we hope contains information about China’s military offensive. We haven’t been able to access the information on the drive, so we’re going to transport it out of Beijing to a facility with the ability to extract the information. We’re hoping we can use that information to our advantage.”
The president said nothing for a moment, reflecting on the detainment and subsequent escape of his national security advisor. “How are we going to get Christine out and obtain the flash drive?”
“One of our guided missile submarines, Michigan, is on its way to Taiwan. She’ll insert a SEAL team into the coastal city of Tianjin while the CIA escorts Christine to the port, where she’ll meet the SEAL team and be brought aboard Michigan. Hopefully, we’ll be able to extract the data from the flash drive using the submarine’s onboard systems. If not, Michigan will launch one of her UAVs with the flash drive aboard.”
Brackman fell silent and the men around the table waited for additional questions from the president. After none were forthcoming, SecDef Jennings spoke, his voice subdued. “Mr. President. Request permission to engage the People’s Republic of China.”
As Jennings waited for the president’s response, the only sound in the Situation Room was the faint whisper of cold air blowing from the ventilation ducts above. On the wall across from the president, the display flickered silently.
Finally, the president gave the order. “Engage the People’s Republic of China with all conventional forces at our disposal.”