Date/Time: 07-01-2018 / 06:00:00 Zulu
Location: South China Sea

Introduction

The outcome of the South Korean strike on North Korean forces was a clear military victory, but would have terrible political outcomes.

The first was that Kim Jong-un was infuriated, and after proclaiming several nuclear threats he was able to secure several key concessions from the United States and China as the UN desperately tried to defuse the situation. This would not only allow Kim Jong-un and his regime to remain in power for the immediate future, but they could now claim victory out of a military defeat. Regional bad actors now had a very good example of where aggressive foreign policies could pay off.

The second was that the American policy makers, media and public started a public debate questioning the value of defending an aggressive ally that clearly did not need it. America’s armed forces and defense budget were already committed to fighting the long war against terrorism all over the world, and should not be squandered to shore up a now strong South Korean Army despite long standing defense commitments. American allies and rivals in the region viewed this as evidence that the United states was a distracted declining superpower whose stake in the region was as morally hollow as the political and media driven hubris that seemed to consume it. It was no longer perceived to be a trusted ally, and was no longer to be entrusted with the security of the global commons.

The Chinese Politburo had evolved into an adept management team whose analytic skills could rival any modern board of directors; and with the change in Asia’s political climate they saw opportunity. Their primary responsibility was to position China to continue to grow and prosper as an industrial, military and economic superpower. To do that they needed to ensure that China’s energy routes were under its permanent control quickly as rivals were growing their military power and would soon challenge these routes to contain or influence China. Past politics and American dominance in the region had made that difficult, but now with that gone the biggest concern was speed - and that is why the Politburo turned to the Chinese military to help. War would be the most efficient path forward and it was felt that China’s military was as strong as it would ever be - and its rivals never as weak. Fortune favors the bold.

When Chinese defense and energy security experts looked at a map, they saw two lines of nations and islands that must be brought under Chinese control. The line runs from Vietnam to Japan and includes the Spratly Islands, Taiwan, the Philippines and the Ryukyu Island chain. The second line runs from northern Japan far south through the Mariana island chains to the eastern Indonesian Islands. Currently China’s rivals and adversaries controlled most of these two lines, which in effect contained China behind a wall of sea and air power.

Overcoming these two lines was a considerable challenge that was not unlike the Japanese or American war strategies in World War Two, in that they had to control many distant territories thousands of miles from their homeland. The difference was that they didn’t have the manpower, amphibious or economic capacity to support a massive Pacific-wide invasion. What they could do instead is use their now modernized military air, sea and space power to take or destroy key nodes and disrupt the ability of their adversaries to take a stand. American and Russia had provided successful examples of this in the preceding decade and China now had the capacity to carry out the same. The lines would either be neutralized or taken one after another, and no foreign power could interfere given the politics and economics of the day.

Vietnam had emerged from devastating conflicts during the Cold War into a nation on a fast track to being a regional power. It had made peace with the United States and had reached out and invited in foreign investment and economic development worldwide. It had not attempted a lasting peace with China, and by all accounts was making considerable arms purchases to counter China’s military power. It had opened up Cam Rahn Bay's facilities to foreign warships and politically was siding against China in all Spratly Island disputes. Given all this, it was the necessary first target in China’s great war in the Pacific.

 

Scenario Notes:

This is a single-sided campaign scenario designed to be played from the Chinese side. The intent is to demonstrate Chinese capabilities and platforms to the player, so they will be familiar with them when squaring off against them later in the campaign.

This scenario occurs during a transition from day to night. Please pay attention to your weapon and platform capabilities in regard to this ( lots of optical weapons in the inventory!).