happy.”
Hood paused for a moment, then added, “I’ll be honest with you, gents: I think Pacific Command thinks of you guys as not much more than window dressing. Now the White House is afraid that intercept might shove the Chinese over the edge. Sending you home might be the only thing that keeps your stunt from morphing into an international incident, General McLanahan.”
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEVERAL DAYS LATER
The White House photographers just finished taking their pictures of the president of the United States and the acting president of China sitting down in the Oval Office together and shaking hands just before their meeting. Vice President Ann Page and many members of the Cabinet stopped by to meet Gao, who warmly greeted them. Finally, the two leaders sat down in their seats in the Oval Office, the president with a cup of coffee and Gao with tea.
“I wish to thank you for agreeing to this informal meeting, Mr. Gao,” President Phoenix said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t make it an official state visit; I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course, Mr. President—I was only appointed president by an unelected body, so I am not technically a head of state,” Gao Xudong said. “But you are very kind to receive me. It is indeed an honor to be in the White House.”
“The honor is mine for you taking time out of your day to leave New York on the eve of your address to the United Nations and meeting us,” Phoenix said. “And thank you for providing the State Department with a draft of your address. That is of course what prompted my request for a meeting.”
“I am happy to do so, Mr. President,” Gao said. “I understand you have concerns about my address?”
“I wanted to clarify some details in your speech, sir,” Phoenix said, “and I was hoping to persuade you to make some changes to the text of your address to reflect the actual situation.”
“Such as, sir?”
“First of all, sir, the aircraft carrier
“It has not left the area of the southern South Sea and eastern Indian Ocean for many months, and it has put into ports in Australia several times,” Gao pointed out. “And your Marines are definitely based in Australia. The United States first deployed just five hundred Marines—that number has grown to over five thousand.”
“I’m not perfectly familiar with all the details, sir, but I assure you, the
“The Russian navy has been kind enough to train our carrier aircrew, maintenance personnel, and many other specialties,” Gao explained. “China is also contemplating building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and Russian expertise would be of great importance.”
“I see,” Phoenix said. “You also say in your speech that the bombers that are stationed on Guam are armed with nuclear weapons. They are most assuredly not armed with nuclear weapons.”
“Our intelligence suggests otherwise, sir,” Gao said rather sternly. “An in-person inspection of your aircraft and facilities on Guam would be in order to verify that there are no forward-deployed nuclear weapons.”
“That would be acceptable,” the president said. Gao raised his eyebrows in surprise at the response. “We would also like to verify the existence of nuclear weapons aboard your warships in the South China Sea.”
“As you know, sir, China is under martial law at the present time,” Gao said. When he noticed Phoenix’s expression turn to one of deep skepticism, he added, “But I think that can be arranged.”
“Very good,” Phoenix said. “You also say that we are conducting armed airborne patrols of the South China Sea. That also is not true. Only the aircraft on the ground are armed and are on quick-reaction alert.” He paused for a moment, then said, “China seems to be quite anxious about those aircraft on Guam, Mr. Gao. Guam is an important military base, and access to the Pacific is extremely important for the United States and our allies, as it is with China and her allies. The Continuous Bomber Presence program has been in effect since shortly after 9/11, sir—almost fifteen years. China has never expressed any concerns about the bombers on Guam before now.”
“The nearly tripling of the size of the bomber task force, the addition of more fighters and radar aircraft to the task force on Guam, and the aggressive way the B-1 bombers were used near our aircraft recently all contribute to my government’s concern, Mr. President,” Gao said. “If your goal is to intimidate the People’s Republic of China, Mr. President, you have succeeded.”
“That was not my intention in the least, sir,” Phoenix said. “We have also noted in your speech, Mr. Gao, that the United States is now ‘stationing’ two carrier strike groups in the South China Sea. That also is not true. We conduct regular patrols through the entire western Pacific and South China Sea, but we have not stationed any carriers there. Per our agreement, the transit times and duration of each passage is communicated well in advance to your government, and the carriers are configured so as to not have a ready deck for fixed-wing aircraft.”
“Perhaps that can be modified in my address, sir,” Gao said, although he clearly didn’t like it and didn’t seem too committed to do it. “But our intelligence analysts have noted an increase in the number and frequency of those patrols.”
“Mr. Gao, those patrols were increased after the loss of our patrol plane, patrol helicopter, and rescue helicopter last year,” Phoenix said. “Surely you can understand our deep sense of caution after those tragic losses.”
“Of which China has freely admitted and done everything possible to prove our sincere regret and mitigate the losses to those involved.” There was an uncomfortable pause in the Oval Office; then, a few moments later, Gao said: “President Phoenix, the B-1 bombers patrolling the South Sea—they appear to be different from the ones on ground alert. Can you tell me about them?”
“Seems to me you already have a great deal of information, sir,” Phoenix said.
“I am not trying to be coy, Mr. President,” Gao said, the stiffness of his posture accentuating the edge in his voice. “You have spies in China; we have spies in the United States. It is the nature of the world we live in. But the information we gather only leads to more questions.”
“If I can answer your questions, Mr. Gao, I will; otherwise I will collect the answers right away.”
“Thank you, sir,” Gao said. “We have noted that some of the B-1 bombers have civil registration numbers on them instead of serial or bureau numbers, and some are painted differently. The crews also wear different flight suits than the others. If I may be so bold, sir, but they appear to be civilians or perhaps nonmilitary operators. CIA, perhaps?”
“Contractors,” Phoenix said. Obviously China has spies that were uncomfortably—and possibly dangerously— close to Andersen Air Force Base, he thought, close enough to distinguish subtle differences like registration numbers and flight suit colors. That was very ominous and needed attention. “Civilian contractors, familiar with the aircraft, run under Air Force supervision.”
Gao’s face was the most expressive than it had been the entire meeting. “Indeed. Not military or government?”
“The purpose of those civilian B-1 aircraft is strictly long-range surveillance,” Phoenix said. “They don’t even have weapons operators aboard. They are there to augment our fleet of Global Hawks and other unmanned aircraft. They are much more flexible and responsive than many other sensor platforms.”
“That is very interesting, sir,” Gao said. “Not CIA?”
“Not CIA.”
Gao didn’t seem like he believed Phoenix, but when he searched Phoenix’s face he didn’t sense any attempt at evasion or untruth. “Very interesting,” he said. “But you understand that the presence of long-range strike aircraft such as B-1 bombers only increases our deep concern over your intentions, sir.”
“That’s why I’m telling you about them,” Phoenix said. “They are there to support the Continuous Bomber
