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Originally Posted by chico20854
The Soviet Navy would have a tough time blockading the Chinese coast for a number of reasons. First, its a long way from Soviet bases. To get from Vladivostok to any Chinese port involves sailing through the straits of Tsushima between Korea and Japan (under the eyes of western intelligence gatherers, who would likely pass information on to the PRC), Petropavlovsk is even farther and Cam Ranh, Vietnam doesn't have the infrastructure to support a large fleet. The Soviet Pacific fleet isn't built for long-term operations like the ones demanded by trying to shut down the long Chinese coast -their underway replenishment fleet is small and not really up to the task. What I think would be more likely is parking Soviet subs off the ports, air raids on the ports (utilizing the massive technological superiority of Soviet aircraft vis a vis Chinese, aiming to destroy the unloading equipment) and mining harbors and sea lanes, using surface ships (both naval and merchant), subs and aircraft. Add to that psychological operations, trying to win a propaganda war to get countries to prevent their ships from carrying supplies to China and scaring sailors away from China-bound voyages. NATO nations can send escorts to their merchantmen, daring the Soviets to attack ostensibly neutral shipping in international waters.
I could see US and other foreign "technical advisors" on the ground in China, directing the maintenance (and to a certain extent, use) of the hodgepodge of foreign high-tech weapons that the PRC government orders from the West after the fall 1995 campaign. Then there is the AVG, the new "Flying Tigers" of American pilots (officially discharged from the US Military) flying top-of-the-line F-15s/16s/18s/20s in Chinese markings. Once the US enters the war the AVG moves to a series of secret airbases in Western China, where it flies top cover for a SAC advanced base in Western China, which launches bomber missions to exploit the relative weakness of Soviet air defenses in Central Asia.
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Chico, you're right, and I should have worded my navy statement more carefully.
I am probably going to sound like some old codger reminiscing about the old days and "when I was your age, we used to walk to school 10 miles up hill in the snow".
In one of the old townhall forum threads, we talked about foreign "volunteers" and foreign aid to the PRC. Sadly, that thread and a lot of others got lost in one of their crashes. I remember Matt Wiser and Paul Mulcahy offering lots of good ideas. Anyone happen to save those old threads?