Yin, Yanmeng Pavilion. [No pop-up novel network] Wang Xiqing changed a set of formal clothes. With Jia Shushan and others seven, two mansions. Go to the Hall of the General Assembly of the Supreme Authority of the State and attend the Plenary Assembly held in the morning. At the same time, at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca, 10,000 miles away, the aircraft carrier battle group with the "Beijing" as the core sailed into the Singapore Strait at the first dawn in the early morning and headed for the harbor not far away.

On the bridge of the ship, the two generals looked intently at the harbor that appeared and disappeared in the sea fog.

"Lao Hua, are you really not going?"

Hua Jianfeng nodded, turned his head to look at Yang Jinjie, and said, "You just go, it doesn't matter if I go or not."

"How can it be okay, you are the commander of the fleet, General Mu Qingyun refuses to go, if you don't go, isn't it too bad to give Singapore face?"

Hua Jianfeng shook his head with a smile and said, "Do you think this is a normal military visit?" ”

Yang Jinjie smiled bitterly and did not speak.

"Although we were asked to visit Singapore again, everyone knows that this time we are going to demonstrate." Hua Jianfeng patted Yang Jinjie on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much, just go through the motions, show the majesty of our army in Singapore, and let everyone know who is the master of the South China Sea." ”

"However, I am only an aviation commander, not a fleet commander

At least Hua Jianfeng, the chief of staff of the fleet, took out a cigarette and lit it for Yang Jinjie. "You know, I'm from the submarine force, and I've been dealing with the Yankees for a few years, and I don't want to deal with them face-to-face. Lao Mu has already arranged all aspects of work, you just need to make a show. ”

"Hey!" Yang Jinjie sighed and said, "It seems that you really don't want to go to Singapore." ”

Hua Jianfeng smiled and didn't say anything more. It's not that he doesn't want to go, it's that he can't.

At this time, a fleet staff officer rushed over, and the helicopter that sent Hua Jianfeng to the "Hebei" aircraft carrier was ready.

A few minutes later, Hua Jianfeng left the flagship of the East China Sea Fleet by helicopter and handed over the task of visiting Singapore to Commodore Yang Jinjie, the chief of staff of the fleet.

With the increase in the number of overseas military bases year by year, the Navy is engaged in more and more foreign visits

It is not uncommon for a brigadier general or even a school officer to lead a team. Compared with the beginning of the first century, the foreign affairs activities of the Navy of the Republic after the year of the occupation of the Republic have changed considerably. With the exception of a few official visits and invited return visits, most of the foreign visits are made on an ad hoc basis. For example, when a fleet needs to enter a port for rest or a temporary docking when carrying out combat readiness patrol tasks, it will temporarily arrange to visit the port of a certain country near the sea area. In Libi years alone, the Republican fleet made temporary visits to the ports of Libi in many countries. An official visit is much more formal than an invited return visit than an ad hoc visit. With the change of the world pattern, military visits have become a pivotal diplomatic activity. In many cases, military visits can even have a decisive impact on the situation in the region. For example, during the Anglo-Argentine Falklands crisis at the beginning of the year, the Republic Navy was invited by the Argentine Navy to send the "Huaxia" aircraft carrier battle group of the South China Sea Fleet to visit Buenos Aires.

As the commander of the East China Sea Fleet of the Republic Navy, Hua Jianfeng followed and led the fleet to visit many countries after leaving the front-line combat post. It's just that no one noticed that the countries visited by Hua Jianfeng had no dorf relations with the United States, and were even in a hostile state with the United States. Other words

Hua Jianfeng has never been to a country with close ties to the United States. Although Singapore is not a formal ally of the United States, it has very close relations with the United States.

Hua Jianfeng couldn't go to Singapore for a simple reason: he was an important person on the four blacklists.

When he was the captain of the "Swordfish," Hua Jianfeng received a warning from the Military Intelligence Agency that he had mastered what had happened in the Indian Ocean and knew that it was the "Gun Squid" attack nuclear submarine under his command that sank the US Navy's "Houston." "Put him on the blacklist. Although this incident has been going on for many years, it is always risky to go to a country like Singapore that has signed an extradition treaty with the United States, and no one can guarantee that Hua Jianfeng will not encounter unexpected situations after arriving in Singapore. There are concerns in times of peace, let alone wartime. With the complete annihilation of the Indian fleet, the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet commanded by Hua Jianfeng will enter the Indian Ocean within three days to participate in military operations against India. Although Mu Qingyun is the supreme commander of the fleet, under Lin Xiaolei's arrangement, it is Hua Jianfeng who really commands the combat operations.

After receiving the order from the General Staff, Lin Xiaolei personally contacted Hua Jianfeng and asked him not to go to Singapore and hand over the visit to Yang Jinjie to be responsible. It was precisely because of this that before the "Beijing" aircraft carrier battle group entered Singapore's territorial waters, Hua Jianfeng hurriedly left the flagship and headed for the "Hebei" aircraft carrier.

As a military visit full of demonstrations, it doesn't matter who leads the team.

What matters is how fruitful the visit will be.

Unlike other foreign visits, military visits are not only a way to show a country's influence, but also a means to publicize a country's military strength, and a way to enhance national hegemony.

No one can deny that military visits are closely related to a country's military strength.

At this time, Wang Yuanqing allowed the "victorious army" to visit Singapore, which had the effect of killing two birds with one stone: deterring the Singapore authorities. Let Singapore's leaders recognize the potential of the South China Sea region. It also allowed millions of Chinese to see the power of the Republic, thereby changing Singapore's political and diplomatic tendencies. Second, they will demonstrate to the United States to let the United States know who is the hegemon in the South China Sea, so as to curb the United States' expansionist actions in the South China Sea.

Singapore's news media have the most say in the aftermath of the visit.

As early as July, shortly after the destruction of the Indian Navy's two fleets, news reports about the Sino-Indian war spread around the world. After a brief period of shock and suspicion, the world's major news media reported on the head-on collision of two of Asia's most powerful navies. With the Ministry of Defense of the Republic revealing the relevant information about the battle in the afternoon of the quotation day, the news about the advance of the Navy of the Republic into the Indian Ocean was confirmed. It was only at this time that the outside news media learned that the naval fleet of the Republic had been operating in the waters of the South China Sea and had not entered the Indian Ocean in advance.

Undoubtedly, Singapore's news media were also involved in the coverage.

For the Singaporean Chinese, who are also descendants of Yan and Huang, the fact that the Republic Navy was able to completely annihilate India's two major fleets at a distance of nearly 4,000 meters shocked and exhilarated them. It is shocking that the combat effectiveness of the Republic Navy exceeds everyone's estimates, knowing that under the same circumstances, the US Navy may not be able to annihilate the Indian fleet. What is heartening is that the Chinese nation finally has a powerful navy that is proud of the world, and since then, the descendants of Yan and Huang living all over the world have the strongest backing.

For Singapore's leaders, the Republic's timely announcement of the war is of clear diplomatic significance.

After the South China Sea War, the influence of the United States in Southeast Asia plummeted, and Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia joined the camp of the Republic and became allies and quasi-allies of the Republic. After the Peninsular War, Indonesia quickly adjusted its foreign policy and moved closer to the republic, while Brunei declared permanent neutrality. Except for the Philippines, which is determined to lean towards the United States, in the entire Southeast Asian region, only Singapore is politically and diplomatically inclined to the United States. Even so, Singapore has repeatedly rejected US demands for an alliance and has not tied itself to the American chariot.

Singapore's leaders are well aware that the influence of the United States in the Western Pacific region has been declining since the Republic took control of the Western Pacific, and as a small country, Singapore cannot adopt a single foreign policy, even if it does not take into account ethnic factors, and can only gain a place by maneuvering between major powers. It is precisely in this way that after the Japanese war, Singapore quietly adjusted its foreign policy and began to move closer to the republic.

The Agreement on Assistance for Free Navigation and Maritime Co-operation signed with the Republic of China in the Year of the Milkman became a symbol of Singapore's foreign policy turnaround. At that time, the Republic of China was a strategic security concern, and negotiated with Myanmar and Thailand to open the Kra Canal, which connects the Andaman Sea with the Gulf of Thailand. As long as the canal is navigable

The Republic's naval fleet and ships with a displacement of less than 10,000 tons will no longer need to make a detour through the Strait of Malacca when the navigable capacity of the boron project reaches 10,000 tons. This move will not only ensure the strategic security of the Republic to the greatest extent, but also shorten the main shipping routes.

The Kra Canal is undoubtedly Singapore's biggest nightmare. In the year of the regiment, among the ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, some of the ships that went to the Republic to temporarily dock in Singapore, some of them had gills belonging to the Republic. With the opening of the Kra Canal, the number of ships passing through the Straits of Malacca will be reduced, and Singapore's shipping revenue will be reduced. More importantly, Singapore's strategic position will plummet, and not only will the Republic not need to "take care" of Singapore, but even the United States will reduce the strategic importance of the Strait of Malacca. For a country that does not have much industrial base and relies on shipping as its main income, the loss of shipping is tantamount to losing the momentum for development. For a country that is not militarily strong and has built its security on alliances, the loss of strategic importance is tantamount to the loss of security guarantees.

Under pressure, Singapore has had to adjust its diplomatic policy

Although many people believe that the Republic will not invest trillions of dollars to dig a canal with little economic value, from Singapore's standpoint, the canal is only a means adopted by the Republic, not an end in itself.

The fundamental purpose of the Republic's big fuss on the Kra Canal is to force Singapore to adjust its foreign policy.

In fact, the construction of the Kra Canal did not outweigh the losses.

First, there is the economic issue. According to the original plan, the excavation of the Kra Canal was carried out in three phases; After the completion of the first phase of the project, the canal will reach its basic capacity, that is, it will allow the navigation of cargo ships accounting for 10,000 tons; After the completion of the second phase of the project, the canal will reach the standard navigation capacity, that is, it will allow the navigation of 10,000-ton cargo ships; After the completion of the third phase of the project, the canal will reach full navigable capacity, that is, the navigable capacity will exceed 10,000 tons. According to this regulation, the total investment in the excavation of the canal has exceeded one trillion yuan, of which the first phase of the project has been invested in one trillion yuan. In an ideal scenario, the Kra Canal would share the volume of shipping in the Strait of Malacca, and the shipping fee would be charged according to the average level of the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal. Even if you take into account the economic benefits of shortened voyages, it will take years to recoup all the investment, and the annual rate of return is only gills.

The second is the issue of diplomacy. The Kra Canal is located on the Kra Isthmus in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, and although it is mainly in Thailand, the western part of the canal is a thug. Even though Thailand and Myanmar both want to open up the river, there are serious differences in the distribution of the benefits from the river. In order to stabilize the situation in Southeast Asia, the republic should not exacerbate the contradictions between Thailand and Myanmar because of the Kra Canal.

Finally, there is the political issue of the area where the canal is located. There have always been ethnic separatist movements in southern Thailand, and the opening of the Kra Canal, which runs through the Malay Peninsula, will inevitably weaken the central government's ability to control its southern regions and intensify the ethnic separatist movements, thus destabilizing the domestic situation in Thailand. If the stability of the canal area is not guaranteed, the value of the canal itself will also be weakened. In addition, the resulting domestic political problems in Thailand will inevitably increase the cost of canal construction, thereby weakening the economic value of the canal.

In general, the republic did not intend to dig the Kra Canal.

Judging from the actual situation, if the Republic really wants to dig the Kra Canal, it should not be delayed until the year of the Force, but should start after the South China Sea War, that is, before the year of the collision, and strive to complete the first phase of the project before the concave year, so as to provide assistance for the Republic to enter the Indian Ocean.

It can be seen that the construction of the Kra Canal is only a diplomatic means to suppress Singapore.

With the consolidation of Singapore's foreign policy, the situation in Southeast Asia has also quietly changed.

For the United States, after Indonesia to the Republic of Xiang, Singapore has become a chicken rib in its global strategy.

The main purpose of the United States to control Singapore is only one: to block the main access of the Republic's navy to the Indian Ocean and provide an opportunity for India's re-emergence.

After Indonesia's foreign policy adjustments, the military significance of the Strait of Malacca was greatly reduced, as the Republic Navy could access the Indian Ocean from the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait. Although the United States is also simultaneously strengthening its military deployment in the northwest region of Australia and making every effort to blockade the Lombok Strait, the Sunda Strait is too far away from Australia for the United States to blockade it with military forces deployed in the northwest region of Australia. As long as the Sunda Strait is not blocked, the military value of the Strait of Malacca will be much less than before.

The risks of controlling Singapore at a fraction of the value are enormous.

Although with the support of the United States, Singapore has one of the best military strength in Southeast Asia, and the quality of its military is far superior to that of neighboring countries, as a small country, Singapore does not have the capital to compete with the republic, let alone the public opinion to contend with the republic. As the Republic's "crescent-shaped strategic defense line," that is, the outer defense line that runs from the Sea of Japan in the north through the Japanese archipelago, the Korean Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and finally to Pakistan, Singapore will sooner or later become a dead chess piece for the United States in Southeast Asia. With sooner or later having to give up, the United States has no reason to confront the Republic directly for the sake of Singapore.

The strategic situation determines the basic strategy of the country.

When the Republic Navy took advantage of the victory, Singapore not only did not refuse, but attached great importance to it.

On the night of July, at the "request" of the Singapore authorities, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet prepared to leave port. Although the reason why the Singapore government asked the Seventh Fleet to leave the port was that the port capacity was limited and it could not accept two aircraft carrier battle groups at the same time, and the Republic fleet was invited to pay a return visit, and the US fleet was only a temporary visit, so the US fleet should take the initiative to give up its berths, but everyone knows that this is Singapore showing goodwill to the Republic.

It was precisely in this way that the U.S. Seventh Fleet left the port of Singapore before Yang Jinjie led the fleet into the port.

When the two large fleets staggered, the navy soldiers of the Republic in the depths felt the benefits of the country's strength most directly. Although the size of the Seventh Fleet is not in "Beijing." The aircraft carrier battle group, but the psychological activities of the officers and men of the two fleets are completely different. In the words of a reporter from Singapore's Straits Times when reporting on the scene, the staggered passage of the two fleets means the end of the old era and the beginning of the new era; The "era of single hegemony" with the United States as the left Seventh Fleet will be gone forever; The "era of multilateral hegemony" with China and the United States as the case. "Like the fleet of the Republic that has entered, it has quietly arrived.

Some even predicted that the disgraced departure of the Seventh Fleet would mark the withdrawal of the United States from the Southeast Asian Shield.

Entering the port of Singapore, Yang Jinjie and other fleet officers and men experienced the feeling of "at home".

On the wharf, hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans gathered, ranging from pale old people to childish children. These people, who had come to meet the fleet of the Republic, saw not a mighty fleet, but the hope of a nation moving towards strength.

About two centuries ago, a strong enemy from the sea pushed the Chinese nation into the abyss, so that China can best understand the importance of the navy and the importance of national rejuvenation.

At this time, the fleet led by Hua Jianfeng was heading northwest for the Indian Ocean.

National rejuvenation cannot be achieved overnight, and on the road to glory, the Chinese nation, which has lasted for thousands of years, will face many challenges.

At this time, thousands of miles away in the capital of the republic, Wang Yuanqing walked into the solemn Great Hall.

National rejuvenation requires not only foreign conquest, but also its own all-round development. In the long course of history, the young republic still has to overcome many difficulties.

At this time, the republic was standing at a turning point in history.