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Originally Posted by boogiedowndonovan
One thing to consider is that the PRC would depend on foreign military aid (V1 mentions this, can't remember V2 or V2.2). Also consider that the Soviet Navy would far outclass anything the PLAN would have afloat and would blockade or destroy Chinese ports with impunity. However, two ports with direct and direct access to the Chinese mainland which the Soviets could not touch would be Hong Kong and Macau.
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I don't see a large number of PRC troops deploying to Hong Kong, but I do see an American presence, Navy and Air Force personnel primarly, possibly some Coasties or Marines for security.
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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.