Chapter 1504: Inside and Outside

The atmosphere in the war room suddenly became serious.

Although the president's dark skin could hardly show any changes in his facial expression, it was not difficult to sense some hostility from his gaze.

In fact, just like his dress style today, he didn't take the matter too seriously at first.

After all, it is not difficult for Washington to control two essentially vassal forces.

I can’t rule the EU for now, but can I rule you?

The reason for holding this meeting was originally just to hear the attitudes of various departments towards this matter, so as to decide how much effort to put in.

The aftermath of the financial crisis has only just passed, and it would be best to minimize the impact on the economy.

But Bryson offers a very worrying possibility.

In other words, before he regained control of Europe through identity politics, he had already lost East Asia and Southeast Asia.

By then, America's geographical isolation from the Eurasian continent will turn from an advantage to a disadvantage.

Even more, because Europe and East Asia cut off the passage from North America to the Indian Ocean from the east and west, Washington's influence in the Middle East and the east coast of Africa will be quickly lost, which is equivalent to completely losing its global leadership.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

South America alone is definitely not enough to satisfy Wall Street's greedy appetite.

"We must respond to this matter immediately!"

Ao Guanhai changed his previous leisurely attitude and made the decision in a firm tone.

James Clapper had already prepared a response, and immediately responded:

"This is not difficult to do. There are already deep historical and current conflicts between the three East Asian countries. As long as we find some excuse to stir up trouble, it won't be difficult to destroy the fragile trust between them..."

In the past, this plan would have been more than enough.

But the prospect Bryson just described is a bit scary.

"Not enough." The president shook his head. "I need to teach them a more profound lesson."

Clapper was stunned for a moment, then shrugged indifferently:

"Then... I think the forces supporting the East Asian Free Trade Area must be a minority in Tokyo or Seoul. We can simply get rid of one or two of them to achieve the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

Bryson felt a little sweaty after hearing this conversation, but he was not prepared to have anything to do with these dirty jobs, so he just added:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the key to this matter lies not in East Asia, but in Southeast Asia."

Bryson took the laser pointer and pointed it at the lower right corner of the screen again:

“Once China realizes that the relationship between itself and ASEAN countries has changed from the past labor-intensive industrial competition to the complementarity between technology, labor and market, then even if they form an alliance with Southeast Asia alone, they can still deal a blow to us, especially to the influence of the US dollar.”

This time, even Clapper, who had always been frivolous, couldn't help but frown.

The Southeast Asian countries are independent countries at least in name, so it is difficult to deal with the matter in a simple and rough manner as he just said.

"I do have an idea."

Robert Gates, who had been silent all this time, suddenly made a proposal, attracting almost all the attention.

He ignored those gazes and went straight to the electronic map, pointing to the location of Yokosuka:

"Let our fleet go to Manila."

……

half a month later.

Yokosuka Naval Base was shrouded in morning mist, and a humid sea breeze blew across the dock with a salty smell.

The huge outline of the USS George Washington nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is like a steel city floating on the sea. The F/A-18 fighter jets and MH-60R/S helicopters neatly arranged on the deck are looming in the morning mist.

Captain David Rothman stood on the bridge and watched the sailors busy making final preparations before setting sail.

As a mid-level officer who started from the grassroots, he enjoyed this scene before every voyage.

It seemed to remind him of the days when he had just joined the navy twenty years ago.

"All departments are reporting ready, Captain." The deputy captain handed over a list, "Just waiting for the final order from the headquarters."

Rosman nodded, his eyes sweeping across the fleet of ships anchored not far away.

The guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens, the guided-missile destroyers USS Latzen, USS McCampbell and USS John McCain, and the amphibious assault ship USS Essex…

This mixed battle group was luxuriously equipped, but its mission brief was disturbingly vague.

“Routine visit to Manila,” the briefing described it.

But Rothman's old friend in Naval Intelligence hinted that there might be "follow-up developments" to the voyage.

"Fleet commander to the ship!"

The sentry's booming voice interrupted his thoughts.

Vice Admiral Scott Swift strode onto the bridge. The battle group commander was a burly man with scars on his face that recorded the thrilling experience of a flight accident.

"How's the preparation going, David?"

Swift asked, his eyes looking out to sea in the distance.

"We can set off at any time." Rothman hesitated, "But the soldiers are a little... confused about the nature of the mission."

Although he said "soldiers", it was obvious that he was the one who was really confused.

Swift finally turned around: "What's the confusion?"

"The briefing said this was a routine visit, but the combat readiness level was raised to level three," Rothman said, choosing his words carefully. "And the ammunition load exceeded the standard by 40%."

The corner of the lieutenant general's mouth twitched slightly: "You think we are preparing for a conflict?"

"No, General." Rothman shook his head. "I just want to know what we are really prepared for."

The only answer he got was silence.

Rosman looked at the neatly arranged fighter planes on the deck and suddenly mentioned something seemingly unrelated:

"I remember that 13 years ago in 1997, the British sent a fleet centered on the aircraft carrier Illustrious there, but the result... was not very good."

The lieutenant general's face immediately turned gloomy:

"Are you comparing the American Navy to that pathetic British fleet?"

"Of course not." Lawsman shook his head and quickly replied, "The combat capability of the Washington is more than ten times that of the Excellence. Our E-2C early warning aircraft can detect air threats at least 250 kilometers away, and then launch a four-aircraft interception formation within two minutes, and maintain 12-16 aircraft on the deck on standby, ready to respond to other threats at any time. There are also four Aegis monitoring ships to provide cover..."

"What's the problem?" Swift interrupted.

Lausman took a deep breath:

"The problem is that everything above requires clear orders or authorization." He stared into the other person's eyes and continued, "Back then, the British fleet was also stronger than the Chinese air force on paper, but due to vague orders and hesitant decisions, it still failed to complete any effective interception."

The fate of the Hailang 97 fleet is an open secret within the navies of NATO countries, but compared to the majority of voices that simply mock the Royal Navy's combat effectiveness, the US Naval Academy is more inclined to attribute the main responsibility to the decision-makers.

In Rossman's view, his own fleet seemed to have a similar trend to that of the British back then.

Swift stared at the naval captain opposite him for a long time, and finally sighed: "I understand your concerns, David. But some things are beyond my authority." He patted the other's shoulder, "I promise that once there is a clear action order, you will be the first... well, the second to know."

Two hours later, the George Washington slowly left its berth with the assistance of a tugboat.

"Route set, Captain," the navigator reported. "Go south through the Ryukyu Sea, cross the Bashi Channel and enter the South China Sea. We are expected to arrive at Manila Bay in 72 hours."

Rothman nodded.

As Swift had promised, the route would stay away from hot spots.

At least on the surface, it was undoubtedly a normal visiting mission.

But the captain's thoughts returned to the satellite photos he had seen at the intelligence briefing.

The new naval base in Qiong Province, the oil exploration platform protected by frigates, and the landing fleet that has been active recently...