Rising Tiger: A Thriller (25)
Under the guise of commercial shipping, China had been building up these ports so that they could accommodate Chinese warships. And as China had just leapt ahead of America in the size of its navy, anything that helped the Chinese repair, refuel, or resupply its battle force vessels was of added strategic concern to the United States.
In short, as the Belt and Road Initiative had taken off, so had China’s navy—both through modernization and the construction of new ships. Among all their other global superpower ambitions, they were hell-bent on maritime domination. The United States was right to be concerned.
Harvath shared with Proctor what he knew.
“We’re not the only ones worried about the String of Pearls,” the admiral replied. “New Delhi is, too. The Indian Ocean has always been within their sphere of influence. The Chinese, however, have muscled in and are boxing them out of relationships with regional partners. But that’s not the worst of it.
“We also have reports that China has been angling to base combat task force units at each of the pearls, as well as to construct high-end surveillance outposts. Essentially, they are working with amazing speed to solidify control of the Indian Ocean and upend the balance of power. China’s goal is quite clear—to encircle India in order to choke it off.”
Proctor put up a map of the region and highlighted each area as he continued speaking: “India shares a massive border to its north with China, which is rife with territorial disputes and increasing Chinese hostilities.
“The String of Pearls, as we’ve discussed, surrounds India to the south. To the west is India’s long-standing enemy, Pakistan. Here, China has cemented a strategic alliance by investing over sixty-two billion dollars in projects referred to as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“Finally, there is Bhutan to the east, where China has been slicing off land from a strategic plateau where India, China, and Bhutan meet. It overlooks a thin strip of Indian territory known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck,’ which functions as a corridor connecting India to states in its northeast.
“Even though the terrain is extremely rugged and virtually inhospitable, China has been constructing buildings there, ostensibly to house military units that will be able to cut off access to this vital Indian corridor. Once that’s done, the noose will be complete and China can choke India to death. All it has to do is squeeze.”
“And, as India is a nuclear power with more than a million troops,” Harvath stated, “that’s not going to end well. But what does this have to do with the United States and what Ritter was doing in Jaipur?”
“He has been covertly negotiating an Asian version of NATO. The plan is to bring the United States, Japan, Australia, and India together to counter the growing threat from China.”
It was an ambitious plan and made sense on multiple levels. Harvath could understand why it was being discussed.
He could also understand why the Chinese would hate it and want to put a stop to it at all costs.
“So, my job is to figure out what happened to Ritter. And then what?”
Admiral Proctor looked at the other people around the table and then back at Harvath. “Your official tasking will come from your organization. My job was solely to present the briefing.”
“Understood. Is there anything else I need to know?”
“You’ve tangled with the Chinese more than once,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “You know how dangerous they are. And while I shouldn’t have to warn you, I’m going to say it anyway—watch your back. I’m serious.”
“I know you are. And I will. Thank you.”
The men said their good-byes, the feed went dark, and a moment later there was a knock at the door of the SCIF.
Sticking his head in, Leahy said, “Everything go okay?”
“I thought the ads along the bottom encouraging me to sign up for premium encrypted video via White House TV+ were a bit much,” replied Harvath, “but other than that, it was fine.”
The young CIA operative smiled. “Your office is up next. They asked to be notified once the call was complete. If you want to stretch your legs or grab another coffee, I can put them off for a few minutes.”
Harvath had almost a full mug. Holding it up, he thanked Leahy and said, “I’m good. Let’s go ahead and put them through.”
“Roger that,” Leahy responded, closing the SCIF door.
It took less than a minute for the screen to come alive again. This time he could see the faces of Nicholas and his “boss,” Gary Lawlor.
He used the term boss lightly when it came to Gary. Before his death, Reed Carlton had made it clear that he wanted Harvath running the organization, but Harvath hadn’t been interested. He had no intention of giving up fieldwork. As such, someone needed to run day-to-day operations and Lawlor had been offered, and had accepted, the position.
He was ex-FBI and had helmed the first completely black program Harvath had worked in after leaving his stint as a Secret Service agent at the White House. But they had known each other much longer than that. Though in a different branch of service, Lawlor had saved Harvath’s father in Vietnam. The men had remained friends and Gary had become like a second father to Scot.
He had also been one hell of a covert operative with Army Intelligence during the Cold War. The joke around the Carlton Group was that Lawlor was the only person with hands calloused enough to handle someone as “rough” as Harvath.