by Dale Brown
but as weeks went by, the rumor was that Yin simply did not want to risk
the wrath of the Philippine Navy and put his precious flagship Hong Lung
in harm's way. Instead, he had ordered Chow's smaller, less powerful,
less capable task force to patrol the area. Admiral Yin's task force
was seventy-two kilometers to the southwest, fairly close to Nansha Dao
Island itself, which meant Yin was in very real danger of running
aground in the shallow waters. Commander Chow's force was better suited
for those interreef patrols-but if that was where the Admiral preferred
to stay... "Surface contact, sir, " an officer in the Combat section of
the bridge crew blurted out. "Bearing, zero-five-zero degrees, range
twenty kilometers. Speed zero." Chow turned to the plotting board as
another crewman penciled in the contact on the clear Plexiglas board.
Phu Qui Island. "Confirm that contact, " Chow ordered. "Make sure
you're not painting the island itself." But he knew it was not possible
for his radar to paint the shallow, half-submerged outline of a coral
"island" at this extreme range. Someone was on or near the disputed
island. The Filipino salvage crews, along with the inevitable warships,
had long since departed-there had been no large vessels near the island
now for several weeks. Since Yin's attack, ships transiting the neutral
zone, including Chow's small task force, had been careful to report
their movements to the governments of each country that had claims on
the islands-Chow had a list of every ship that planned on plying these
waters in the next several days. There had been no reports of any
vessels that sought to anchor on Phu Qui Island. "Radar confirms contact
as a vessel, " the Combat officer replied a few moments later. "Definite
cultural return. Unable to get an ISAR reading on the contact, but it is
not terrain or sea shadows." ISAR, or Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar,
was a new feature of the "Square Tie" surface-search radar that could
combine vertical and horizontal radar scans with Doppler-frequency shift
information to get a two-dimensional "picture" of a surface return; ISAR
could usually identify a vessel at ten to fifteen miles, well beyond
visual range. Commander Chow hesitated-he couldn't believe the Filipinos
would actually attempt to set up their oil-drilling rigs on the island
again. It was tantamount to a declaration of war. He was also reluctant
to cruise farther into the neutral zone without specific orders from
Admiral Yin. Let him take the responsibility for another attack. "Send
a FLASH emergency message to Dragon, " he finally ordered his officer of
the deck. He could feel the first prickles of tension-heated sweat
forming on the back of his neck, and it wasn't from the humidity.
"Inform him of our radar contact. We will stand by for instructions."
He paused momentarily, then added, "Send the minesweeper Guangzou from
present position northwest and secure the north and northeast axis. If
we have to move toward Phu Qui, I want the lane clear. I give specific
orders for Guangzou to enter the neutral zone on my authority; record
the order in the log." The minesweeper, although based on a
Shanghai-class patrol boat, had no offensive armament except
small-caliber machine guns and could not be considered a warship;
therefore sending a minesweeper alone into the neutral zone could not be
considered a hostile act. The officer of the deck issued the orders;
then: "Sir, I suggest we request the helicopter on Ho ng Lung be sent to
investigate the contact ahead of the task force. It would be much less
threatening to whoever is on Phu Qui Island."
"We will be ordered to move closer to Phu Qui Island whether we see what
is out there or not, Chow predicted. "But it's a good suggestion. Get
it in the air." They did not have to wait long for the order: "Message
from Dragon, sir, " the officer of the deck reported." 'Task force two
is hereby ordered to cross into the neutral zone immediately.
Investigate contact on Phu Qui Island with all possible speed, identify
all intruders, detain all persons. Peacetime rules of engagement in
effect-do not fire unless fired upon, but repel assaults with all
available resources. Helicopter will be dispatched immediately to
assist. Dragon task force en route to your location. ETA
two-point-three hours." Message ends."
"Very well, " Chow replied, nodding confidently and pumping his voice up
with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "Sound silent general
quarters, repeat, silent general quarters. Relay to all vessels, go to
silent general quarters." It was a fairly calm night, and the noise of
alarm bells and sirens going off might very well be heard twenty
kilometers away. This was the first time that Commander Chow had ever
faced a real confrontation between two powerful, hostile navies, and so
far his thin, forty-six-kilogram body was not taking the excitement too
well. His stomach was making fluid, nervous rumblings. "Have Guangzou
complete a zigzag pattern along the zerofive-degree bearing from us,
then begin a search pattern direct to Phu Qui Island. Transition Yaan
and Buojj into trail and forward-scan each flank for signs of
intruders." He was glad when his officer of the deck and the rest of
the bridge crew went about their duties-he was feeling worse by the
minute. He had never experienced seasickness in his sixteen years in
the People's Revolutionary Army Navy, but this time, at the worst
possible moment, he just might. ... He tried to ignore his stomach and
ordered his ships in the best formation in which to approach a hostile
island. The minesweeper would execute a zigzag pattern in front of
Chagda perhaps a kilometer wide, clearing the path of any hidden mines
while maintaining good forward speed toward the target. With his two
Hainan-class patrol boats in trail position, one behind the other and
spaced about a kilometer apart, whoever was on that island might not
detect the two trailing vessels until the shooting started. The two
patrol boats, each one configured for both antiaircraft and
antisubmarine warfare, would be scanning the skies and seas ahead and to
each side of the formation, searching for hostile aircraft, ships or
submarines. "All ships are at general quarters, " the officer of the
deck reported with a bow. Chow was just donning his life jacket and
baseball cap, in lieu of a combat helmet. "All ship's weapons manned
and report ready."
"Very well. I want range to Phu Qui Island every kilometer, " Chow
ordered. "Have the vessels maintain ten knots until-"
"Sir! Acquisition radar detected, bearing zero-five-zero, " Combat
reported. "Well, what in blazes is it? Analysis! Quickly!" There was
another interminable delay; then: "C-band acquisition, sir. . .
probably Sea Giraffe 50, OPS-37, SPS-10 or -21 surface-search system...
slow scan rate... Calling it an SPS-10 now, sir. . . Chow scowled at
the reports from his Combat section; they were rattling off Swedish and
Japanese radar systems when they knew that the only C-band radar in the
Spratlys had to be Filipino. "Nineteen kilometers to Phu Qui Island and
closing, " came the range report from the navigation officer. "Speed
ten knots."
"Negros Oriental class, " the officer of the deck announced. "Latest
intelligence reports had the Nueoa Viscaya putting out to sea. It may
have arrived here in the Spratlys." Chow nodded his agreement. The
Nueoa Viscaya was one of two active ex-U.S. anti-submarine-warfare
vessels operated by the Philippine Navy as coastal patrol boats, another
fifty-year-old rust bucket rescued from the scrap heaps. It was small,
slow, and lightly armed. They used old American C-band SPS- 10 or
French Triton II surface search and acquisition radars as well as
older-model ULQ-6 jammers. Fortunately, its heaviest weapon was a
76-millimeter cannon, as well as 40- and 20millimeter antiaircraft and
antimissile guns that might be a danger to the Hong Lung's helicopter as
far as six kilometers away. "Relay to Hong Lung that we suspect the
Philippine vessel PS80 to be in the vicinity of Phu Qui Island, " Chow
ordered. "Inform them we have detected acquisition C-band radar
emissions and that-"
"Message from Baoji, sir!" the radio technician yelled. "Radar contact
aircraft, bearing one-niner-zero, fifteen kilometers!"
"Air-defense alert to all vessels, " Chow shouted. "Order
five-kilometers free-fire to all vessels. Broadcast on emergency
frequencies for all aircraft to stay out of visual range of Chinese
warships." He dashed over to the radar display on the center bridge
pedestal. The composite radar images showed nothing but Pearson Reef
and Cornwallis West Reef, two very large coral formations on the
southeastern edge of the Spratly Islands-and it was then obvious what
had happened. The single blast of radar energy from whatever vessels
were near Phu Qui was enough to divert all attention to the northeast,
while aircraft managed to sneak around behind Chow's task force, hide in
the radar clutter created by the coral reefs, and slip in close. "Radar
now showing three aircraft, altitude less than ten meters, speed sixty
knots, " Combat reported. "Suspect rotarywing aircraft. Range now
thirteen-point-five kilometers and closing..." The radar display
suddenly showed several bright white spikes radiating out from center.
The spikes seemed to spin around the scope, dim, disappear, and reappear
seconds later with even greater intensity. "Jamming on all systems."
"All ships, defensive maneuvering, " Commander Chow ordered. "Active ECM
and decoys. Signal Dragon in the clear, report possible air attack from
the southeast-"
"Missile in the air!" someone screamed. Directly ahead, right on the
dark horizon, a bright flash of light could be seen, followed by an arc
of light that flared quickly, then disappeared. Another flash of light
followed, the trail of the missile straight this time-headed right for
Chagda. "Hard starboard!" Chow shouted. "Flank speed! Chaff rockets!
Release batteries on all guns! All guns, antimissile barrage!" The
portside 3O-millimeter antiaircraft guns, twin-barrel automatic guns
housed in two-meter domes, began pounding into the sky, guided by the
Round Ball fire-control radar. The furious hammering, so close to the
bridge, turned Chow's guts inside out. At the same time, small rockets
fired off the fantail into the night sky-this was the ERC-1 decoy
system, which consisted of racks of small cylindrical mortars that fired
parachute-equipped shells several hundred meters away and about a
hundred meters high. Some of the rockets streamed pieces of tinsel that
would act as bright radar-reflectors, while others would spew globes of
burning phosphorus that would decoy an infrared-guided missile. His
ship also carried floating radar reflectors, buoy polelike devices, like
tall punching bags, that were weighted to pop upright when tossed
overboard; they were laughably inadequate devices, but someone always
found the time to heave a few over the side in the slim hope that a
missile might find it more appealing than a two-hundred-ton patrol boat.
Every member of the bridge crew was staring out toward Phu Qui Island
when suddenly a terrific burst of light split the air, and for several
seconds the low profile of the minesweeper Guangzou was highlighted in a
huge ball of fire. Several secondary eruptions quickly followed-the
shock wave and sound of the explosion that hit the Chagda several
seconds later was like a three-second hurricane and thunderstorm rolled
into one. Commander Chow had never seen such a horrifying sight.
"Guangzou . . . the minesweeper's been hit... "Look!" someone
shouted. Chow turned in time to see a streak of light pass not more
than a hundred meters astern of Chagda, a blur of a missile-looking
object, just before another huge explosion rocked the patrol boat. The
second missile fired from near Phu Qui had miraculously missed the
patrol boat and horned in on the chaff cloud and formerly
comical-looking radar reflectors, detonating after hitting the floating
decoy. The blast was so tremendous that Chow thought his eardrums had
ruptured. Except for a loud ringing in his ears and a few crewmen
knocked off their feet by the concussion, the small patrol boat was
unharmed. The attack continued. Even though Yaan and Baoji were larger
and better equipped than Chagda, neither of them carried any decoy
rockets, and their electronic countermeasures emitters were small; they
relied on their antiaircraft guns, two twin 57-millimeter and two twin
25-millimeter rapid-firing cannons, to defend themselves. Both ships'
guns were lighting up the sky as the helicopters closed in from the
southeast. "Sir! Baoji reports the helicopters are launching missiles!"
Commander Chow swung his seat over to search the horizon, but could see
nothing through the darkness except for the thin bursts of light from
his escort's antiaircraft guns. But the fast attack boat Baoji lost its
battle seconds later. The Filipino helicopters carried two Sea Ray
missiles each, small, short-range laser-guided antiship missiles with
one-hundredand-fifty-pound fragmentation warheads; one helicopter was
paired with one patrol boat, and they drop-launched their missiles when
within four miles of their targets. The patrol boat Yaan destroyed its
helicopter with a burst of 40-millimeter gunfire, which caused the Sea
Ray missiles in flight toward her to break lock and fall harmlessly into
the ocean. But the helicopter tracking Baoji managed to swerve and
dodge around long enough to keep the laser beam on target. Both Sea Ray
missiles guided directly on the forecastle of the Booji, and although
the warheads were small and probably would not have done much damage if
they had hit the hull or decks, the missiles plowed into the bridge and
combat control center, killing the captain, twelve senior crewmen, and
decimating its fighting capability. Chow did not see the explosion
aboard Buoji several kilometers astern; he was frantically trying to
sort out the jumble of targets that had suddenly seemed to surround h
is
tiny task force. The jamming was so heavy now that Chagda was virtually
blind, the surface-search radar a jumble of spikes and false targets,
the electronic countermeasures ineffective. "Come to heading
three-zero-zero, flank speed, " Chow ordered. "Designate radar return
on Phu Qui Island as target one and launch a two-missile C801 salvo." He
felt Chagda begin its sharp turn left, but the Combat officer shouted
the response Chow had been fearing: "Sir, radar target track information
unreliable... switching to manual target track . . . sir, I can't
get a track with all this jamming "Helm, come to heading
three-five-zero, " Chow ordered. "Nav, get us headed direct to Phu Qui
Island. Fire missiles in inflight acquisition mode as soon as we get
headed back toward the island." The C801 missile normally needed
"pre-flight" radar-derived information-target range and bearing, ownship
speed, heading, and vertical reference, etc.-to point itself toward the
target, where its onboard terminal radar would guide the missile to
impact. But in heavy ECM environments, the missile could be launched
with manually input pre-flight data and with the terminal radar on,
where it would fly straight ahead and lock onto the first significant
radar return it could find. Chow hoped the Filipino frigates were still
hiding near Phu Qui-the C801 's radar was sophisticated enough and
powerful enough to burn through heavy ECM, separate out sea clutter, and
find its quarry. ... Chagda made a slight turn to the right, and seconds
later two C80 1 missiles leaped into the sky from their canisters. The
first missile's fiery exhaust trail continued straight ahead, while the
second missile's exhaust seemed more erratic, weaving into the night
sky. Hopefully it had locked onto the damned Filipinos who had the
audacity to attack a Chinese task force! But as Chow and his bridge crew
stared out the forward windscreens, they saw a tremendous barrage of
gunfire erupt from out near the horizon. It lasted only a few seconds,
punctuated by a brilliant flash of light and a cylindrical spinning
object that landed in the water and burned for several seconds before
winking out. It was one of Chagda 's C80 1 missiles, hit by a furious
