Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Now, Jiang Huaimin felt that Slava was right and that the Japanese were truly despicable. He decided to have a good talk with the Soviet Union after this incident to discuss a plan to jointly contain the resurgence of Japanese militarism.

First, he had to convince the Chinese people to accept the Soviet fleet's arrival in the East China Sea. Some worried that accepting Soviet assistance would be tantamount to admitting China's weakness—China had always operated under the banner of independence and self-reliance, and accepting Soviet military cooperation would be a loss of face.

However, Jiang Huaimin did not give anyone any face at the internal meeting.

"At this point, what's the point of worrying about face or substance? We've already lost all face! Losing face isn't scary; what's scary is not learning from it and trying to save face!"

On March 4, China and the Soviet Union jointly issued a statement:

"...The People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will hold joint military exercises in the East China Sea on March 15 to demonstrate the unity of the socialist camp and the profound friendship between the two peoples..."

The Soviet Union's two aircraft carriers—the Varyag and the Ulyanovsk—are still en route. It will take time for them to reach the East China Sea, and during this window of opportunity, China is on its own.

The US military exercises will begin on the 7th, and China must hold out until the Soviet Union arrives.

Chapter 141 The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis Ends

March 11, 1996, East China Sea

The NATO joint exercises have entered their second week. The two US aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and the USS Independence, are circling off the east coast of Taiwan, with two Japanese helicopter carriers following alongside them. Southeast Asian ships and a few Australian frigates are symbolically positioned at the rear of the formation, just observing.

The exercise was very formulaic, consisting of anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and at-sea replenishment—operations that all participating navies were very familiar with. CNN cameras expertly filmed the entire carrier strike group from a helicopter—gray warships lined up in formation, carving white wakes across the blue sea, with the American flag and Japanese flag fluttering in the sea breeze alongside the formation.

However, off-screen, the two Japanese warships quietly deviated from their course.

These are all Asagiri-class general-purpose destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. They were not initially included in the day's exercise and should theoretically be on standby for patrol. However, they began to move northwest, heading towards one place—the Diaoyu Islands.

The official Japanese explanation was that "the destroyer was responding to a signal from an unidentified vessel in the nearby waters and needed to proceed to confirm it."

This is yet another test by Japan. If questioned, they can say that Japanese ships were carrying out normal maritime security missions and were not deliberately going to the Diaoyu Islands.

After discovering that two Japanese ships had deviated from their course, the U.S. joint exercise commander inquired with the Japanese side via the command channel.

The Japanese response was: "We are responding to unidentified signals in the vicinity and expect to return to formation shortly."

The US commander ordered the Japanese ships to return immediately.

The Japanese side delayed for a while.

"Received, processing." "The situation is complex and requires more time for confirmation." "Expected to be completed soon."...

This "quickly" lasted for several hours, during which time the two Japanese warships circled the waters near the Diaoyu Islands.

Then, quite strangely, someone planted another Japanese flag on the island. The military, of course, denied doing it, saying it was done by "civilians"—members of some Japanese right-wing groups who arrived on the island in fishing boats, and the military was "completely unaware" of it.

Between 1945 and 1972, the Diaoyu Islands were under the control of the United States. In 1972, the United States "returned" administrative jurisdiction over Okinawa (including the Diaoyu Islands) to Japan, and the Eisaku Sato government of Japan has since begun to exercise so-called "de facto control" over the Diaoyu Islands.

However, Japan only dares to talk about it. After all, the Diaoyu Islands have always been Chinese territory, and Japan only came into control after the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The current Diaoyu Islands are not something Japan can confront head-on. Therefore, Japan does not dare to actually send people to the islands to plant flags in the name of the official government or military. Instead, it instigates some "civilian groups" to drive fishing boats to the islands to plant Japanese flags.

When the Japanese planted the Rising Sun flag, Chinese fishermen would pull it down and replace it with a red flag; the two sides went back and forth like this.

But this time it's different. Japanese warships were patrolling around the island, and the reporter's photos even captured the white background and red sun over the Diaoyu Islands along with the warships!

The photo appeared in Japanese newspapers within hours.

China reacted swiftly, with the PLA East China Sea Fleet's radar detecting the Japanese destroyer that had deviated from the exercise area immediately. Two H-6D bombers scrambled from an air force base in Zhejiang, each carrying YJ-6 anti-ship missiles under its wings; each missile weighs over two tons and has a range exceeding one hundred kilometers.

Four Su-27s also took off at the same time. Their mission was to escort and prevent US and Japanese fighter jets from coming over to drive away the H-6D bombers in the nearby exercise area.

Soon, two H-6D bombers arrived in the waters near the Diaoyu Islands. They circled above the Japanese destroyer and emitted radio signals. At this distance, the YJ-6's seeker could lock onto the target, and the aircraft's onboard radar continuously illuminated the Japanese warship.

The Japanese warship's radar alarms screamed – something was locking onto them! The Japanese captain immediately reported this to the American side via radio:

"Chinese bombers are overhead, and our ship is being continuously illuminated by radar."

The US commander's response was extremely blunt: "You must return to your formation immediately! Do not delay any longer."

The White House's stance is very clear: President Gephardt brought his ship to East Asia to peddle the Sino-Soviet threat theory and use this opportunity to extract money from allies, not to actually fight with Zhong!

This time, the Japanese did not delay any longer, and the two warships changed course and returned to the exercise area at full speed.

They have achieved their goal.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Tokyo, Japan

On Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's desk sits that photograph—the Japanese flag over the Diaoyu Islands, with the azure East China Sea and Japanese warships in the background.

The photo quickly made it to the front page of major Japanese newspapers.

Yomiuri Shimbun: "Maritime Self-Defense Force ships patrol the waters around the Senkaku Islands, demonstrating Japan's sovereignty."

Sankei Shimbun: "The national flag flies over the Senkaku Islands—Japan's territory is inviolable!"

Ryutaro Hashimoto was not a particularly belligerent person. He was similar to Gerphart, both being protectionist in their economic and diplomatic policies. In his original historical context, he was a pragmatic politician in economic matters and a hawkish one in security policy. He personally promoted the revision of the US-Japan Security Treaty in 1996.

In this timeline, the national humiliation of the bubble bursting by the combined US and Soviet Union, coupled with the Soviet Union's economic expansion and military presence in the Far East, led Ryutaro Hashimoto to take a more hardline stance on defense and diplomacy. Under pressure from a parliament that had already shifted to the right, he pushed for increased defense spending and even began to explore the possibility of revising Article 9 of the Constitution.

Politicians in Congress who were much more right-wing than him seized the opportunity.

Shintaro Ishihara—the Governor of Tokyo and the most radical nationalist within the Liberal Democratic Party—quickly delivered a speech on television:

"The Senkaku Islands are Japan's inherent territory! Today our ships patrol there, tomorrow our fishermen should be fishing there! The day after tomorrow our citizens should be living there! No country—no country—can deprive Japan of its sovereignty over its own territory!"

At this time, Shinzo Abe was still a young member of parliament who had served for more than three years, but he had already begun to make a name for himself among the public.

"The Senkaku issue is a matter of Japanese sovereignty, and sovereignty is not a matter for compromise! Japan should conduct regular patrols in the waters around the Senkaku Islands."

These politicians' motives are ostensibly about territorial sovereignty, but in reality, they want to further break free from their shackles and stride towards a future of "national normalization."

The Taiwan Strait crisis has given the Japanese right wing an opportunity they've dreamed of for decades. Since the Cold War, Japan has been bound by its pacifist constitution—it cannot possess an army (only the Self-Defense Forces), cannot exercise the right of collective self-defense, and cannot send troops overseas.

These restrictions are a thorn in the side of Japan's right wing.

However, if the security environment in East Asia deteriorates, if China "provokes" in the Taiwan Strait, or if Japan's "territory" is "threatened," then Japan would have reason to amend its constitution, expand its military, and transform from a constrained peaceful nation into a "normal" military power.

The Taiwan Strait crisis is that reason, and the Diaoyu Islands are that fulcrum.

The more assertive China becomes, the more excuses the Japanese right wing has to say, "Look, China is a threat." The more Japan expands its military, the more nervous China becomes; the more nervous China becomes, the more the Japanese right wing says, "Look, we need more troops."

Just like the economic death spiral that occurred in the United States on Black Monday in 1987, the Japanese right wing is leading the country into a death spiral as well.

Some more extreme lawmakers even demanded that the military conduct further probing: "Next time, send a full formation, don't just circle around and leave, stay there! Set up outposts on the island!"

However, the Japanese military commanders were very clear-headed. Politicians only needed to point fingers from the rear, while the frontline commanders who faced the Sino-Soviet conflict had to consider many things.

The commanders of the Maritime Self-Defense Force rejected the politicians' risk.

The politicians in Congress were not happy, but politicians cannot command warships.

Well, at least in Japan in 1996, today's politicians couldn't command warships.

just now.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Several hours later, three modern-class destroyers of the Chinese Navy, along with an escort fleet consisting of frigates and supply ships, departed from Wusongkou in Shanghai and headed towards the Diaoyu Islands at a speed of 25 knots.

After arriving near the Diaoyu Islands, the fleet split into two parts. The main force of three Sovremenny-class destroyers and several frigates and supply ships continued to sail towards the designated East China Sea exercise area.

Two Type 053 corvettes stayed behind to patrol around the Diaoyu Islands, and incidentally, they sent fishermen from "Chinese fishing boats" to the islands to tear down and throw away the Japanese flag, replacing it with their own five-star red flag.

East China Sea, March 15

The Soviet Union's dual-carrier battle group has arrived. The 80,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk sailed at full speed from the Strait of Malacca, its bow cutting through the gray-green waves of the East China Sea, casting a huge shadow on the surface.

The 60,000-ton conventionally powered aircraft carrier Varyag sailed south at full speed from Vladivostok to rendezvous with the Ulyanovsk in the designated area of ​​the East China Sea.

The two aircraft carriers, along with their respective escort groups—cruisers, destroyers, frigates, supply ships, and attack submarines—total more than twenty-five warships.

When the fleet appeared on the East China Sea and the massive silhouettes of the two aircraft carriers came into view, the officers in the US-Japan joint exercise formations east of Taiwan finally got what they wanted.

This was the first appearance of the Soviet Union's dual-carrier battle group, and NATO was also eager to see just how much the Soviet Union's naval strength really was.

On the morning of March 15, the Ulyanovsk in the East China Sea.

The Soviet side held a brief welcoming ceremony on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, and the Chinese naval delegation landed on the deck of the Ulyanovsk by helicopter.

The delegation was headed by Liu Huaqing, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This 79-year-old key figure in the Chinese Navy has been pushing for its modernization since the 1970s—aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, ocean-going fleets... However, China's economic and technological conditions have kept these dreams on paper.

He hasn't seen many aircraft carriers in his life.

In the 1970s, he visited the United States as part of a Chinese military delegation and was allowed to board the flight deck of a US aircraft carrier. That visit was strictly limited; the Americans only allowed the Chinese to see the deck and hangar, but not to enter the combat center on the island superstructure or see any sensitive equipment. He stood on the deck of that carrier for less than an hour, but that one hour changed his life.

He knew that China needed its own aircraft carrier!

Twenty years later, he stood on the deck of another aircraft carrier.

That was the Ulyanovsk, the Soviet Union's most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The moment Liu Huaqing stepped onto the flight deck of the Ulyanovsk, he began to look around. His eyes scanned everything on the deck.

The catapult rails—well, the Soviets also had them embedded in the steel plates of the flight deck, and there were two metal grooves extending from the bow all the way to the angled deck.

This is the launch track for a steam catapult. It was the first set in the Soviet Union and the only one in the world except for the United States.

This might be his only chance in his life to see it, and he must seize the opportunity to remember as many details as possible.

There were also arresting cables and aircraft elevators, close-in weapon systems and short-range air defense missiles, and—he couldn't see any more; many parts of the deck were fenced off.

The Soviet Union covered up some sensitive areas on the deck beforehand, covered the steam pipe interfaces of the catapult with canvas, locked some equipment hatches on the island base, and wrapped some electronic equipment on the deck edge and bridge with cloth.

Liu Huaqing completely understood; this was perfectly normal—you couldn't possibly show every detail of a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier in service to a foreign military officer, even if he was your ally.

Moreover, Lao Zhong was not even a member of the Warsaw Pact. He should be grateful to the Soviet Union for even letting him go up on the deck to take a look!

In fact, the Soviet Union's decision to allow the Chinese navy to sail on the Ulyanovsk was politically motivated. It was to take a photo to demonstrate to NATO the "unbreakable friendship" between China and the Soviet Union, and to convey to the US and Japan that Sino-Soviet military cooperation was not just lip service but had penetrated into joint operational command.

After all, joint exercises cannot be truly conducted in a joint manner if the other side does not have access to the combat intelligence center; if each side operates independently, it is called a parallel exercise, not a joint exercise.

The combat intelligence center was located inside the aircraft carrier, which was considered a relatively core compartment. The Soviet Union's idea was that everyone take a photo here and send it out to show the unity of the socialist camp and the friendship between China and the Soviet Union. Then the Chinese side could leave this aircraft carrier and go to the less advanced Varyag, which was the command center for the joint Sino-Soviet naval exercises.

The Chinese naval commanders were very excited. They knew this was probably the only chance they would have to see what the inside of an aircraft carrier looked like, so they stared wide-eyed and tried their best to memorize it.

The interior of the Ulyanovsk was a world Liu Huaqing had never seen before.

The corridor was wide, wider than any corridor on any Chinese warship he had ever seen. The aircraft carrier's large hull, with a displacement of over 80,000 tons, provided ample interior space. The corridor walls were light gray, the floor was covered with non-slip rubber mats, and the pipes and cables overhead were neatly arranged on the ceiling and secured with metal clips.

Liu Huaqing walked very slowly, with his accompanying officers and Soviet officers walking beside him, occasionally pointing out the cabins on both sides of the corridor.

"This is the officers' quarters," "This is the medical ward," "This is the mess hall," "This is the Party branch"...

Liu Huaqing listened and nodded, glancing at the screen as he listened.

Liu Huaqing paused as he reached a corner. Across the corner, another corridor stretched to the end, leading to a heavy steel door with a sign. He recognized Russian; the sign read "Catapult Machinery Room," and the heart of the steam catapult was behind that door.

"Squeak-"

Just then, the door opened, and an engineer came out. Liu Huaqing stood on tiptoe and squinted to get a closer look, trying to see what the equipment in the room looked like and how it worked.

"Cough cough!"

A hand reached out; a young Soviet sailor stood at the entrance of the corridor, extending his hand to block Liu Huaqing's view.

The sailor didn't speak, he just stared at Liu Huaqing.

Liu Huaqing blushed slightly, apologized in Russian, and quickly turned back to the group.

The accompanying Soviet officers and the captain pretended not to see what happened, and the other Chinese officers also pretended not to have seen it.

He really wanted to see it.

He knew that China would one day build its own aircraft carrier, but he didn't know when that day would be—maybe ten years, maybe twenty years, maybe he wouldn't live to see it.

But he believed that day would come, and when that day came, Chinese engineers would certainly need to know what the catapult's mechanical chamber was like—how large the steam storage tank was, how long the cylinder stroke was, what the piston sealing method was, and how the steam pipes were laid out...

While China can certainly explore these things from scratch, it means taking several years, or even more than a decade, of detours!

If he had taken a closer look or remembered a single detail on that Soviet aircraft carrier today, perhaps Chinese engineers could have avoided a detour in the future.

It's nothing for him to lose face once, so that his country can avoid taking some detours.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The group soon arrived at the combat intelligence center, the core compartment that the Soviet Union allowed the Chinese to visit. It was filled with screens and control consoles.

The screen currently displays a situation map of the East China Sea, including the positions of the Soviet fleet, the US-Japan fleet, and the Chinese naval fleet... All the ships are displayed on the screen as dots of different colors.

The content wasn't extensive at first. It wasn't until they arrived at the Varyag's operational intelligence center that Liu Huaqing realized information was tiered and processed there. Situational information needed for joint operations, such as enemy fleet positions, our formation deployments, and communication coordination, was fully displayed on the joint workstation. However, technical parameters of the Soviet fleet itself, such as radar detection range, electronic warfare systems, and weapon system status, were not readily available to Chinese personnel.

The Soviet Union held a brief welcoming ceremony here, where officers from both sides exchanged souvenirs and took a photo—this time in front of a large screen in the operations intelligence center.

Liu Huaqing is smiling in the photo, and the situation map of the East China Sea is clearly visible on the screen behind him: the blue dot of the Sino-Soviet joint fleet and the red dot of the US-Japan fleet face each other across the Taiwan Strait.

After the ceremony, the Soviet officer in charge of receiving them politely said to Liu Huaqing: