Sinking of the Huangshan

Sinking of the Huangshan
Part of the Jinchon Sea crisis
The PLNA Huangshan in 2019
Date 16 May 2022 Location Jinchon Sea off the coast of Gangkou Result Yuan Increased public outrage against Zamastan Zamastan
Participants
Zamastan	Yuan
Commanders and leaders
3rd Fleet Admiral Ashton Sheppard	General Wei Shui
Strength
ZMS Charbonneau	6 type-154 frigates
Casualties and losses
None	317 killed 54 wounded 1 ship sunk

On May 16th, 2022, the Yuaneze type-154 frigate Huangshan was sunk south of Gangkou in the Jinchon Sea, resulting in the deaths of 317 sailors. Participating in military exercises with the Shanghan Cooperation Alliance, the Huangshan and five other ships strayed into Gangkou territorial waters and began live fire drills, with more than 76 missiles aimed towards the populated areas of Gangkou. While no missiles hit land, some did come close to the shore, warranting the naval command under Admiral Ashton Sheppard to issue dozens of warnings to the Huangshan to cease fire and avert its navigational course. The Yuaneze ship ignored all warnings, and ultimately the ZMS Charbonneau, a Zamastanian destroyer, struck the Huangshan with retaliatory hits. The ship sank in less than 8 minutes.

The sinking led to a dramatic escalation in tensions between Yuan and Zamastan, as well as their respective regional and international allies. The status of Gangkou, which had been under contention after President Xi Jingyi's declaration that the island belonged to Yuan, became the focus of the continued crisis. The sinking coincidentally occured exactly two years after the ZMS August Vendetta incident, in which a Zamastanian naval vessel was struck by a missile near Ossinia.

Background

The political and legal statuses of Gangkou are contentious issues. The People's Republic of Yuan (PRY) claims that the Zamastanian government's claim over the island is illegitimate, referring to it as the "Gangkou Authority". However, since the Treaty of Tiaking in 1905, Zamastan has held soveriengty over the island. Gangkou has its own currency alongside the Zamastanian dollar, both of which are accepted monetary trade as opposed to the Yuaneze yen. Gangkou also has a widely accepted passport, postage stamps, internet TLD, armed forces and constitution with an independently elected president, all alongside Zamastanian government functions.

Internationally, the island is generally recognized as Zamastanian sovereign territory. Only a handful of nations, most prominently Yuan, dispute it. Other regional states, most significantly Siniapore and the Kalea Confederation, endorse the sovereignty of Zamastanian control of the islands, largely as a move to deter Yuaneze influence. In the 21st century, Gangkou has become one of Ausiana's most important economic zones. On August 19th, 2021, President Xi Jingyi demanded that the Treaty of Tiaking be nulified and that the Zamastanian lease on the island would end in 2025, 80 years ahead of schedule and sparking a diplomatic crisis.

In the days prior to the sinking, Yuaneze, Mandraoan, Tosichi, Emansi, and Sanpian forces conducted a historically large military exercise in both the Sancheon Gulf and the Jinchon Sea. The Zamastanian Air Force scrambled multiple fighter jets the day prior in order to intercept De Yuaneze warplanes that breached the territorial airspace of Gangkou. Zamastanian naval vessels also warded off multiple Yuaneze ships from both Gangkou and Siniapore, which reported several breaches as well. The 3rd Fleet under the flagship nuclear aircraft carrier ZMS Dubois, stationed in the region, had deployed as a deterent to continued military buildup by Yuan.

Huangshan

The Huangshan underway in 2018

The Huangshan was a Type 154 frigate. The Type 154 carries HQ-16 medium-range air defence missiles and anti-submarine missiles in a vertical launching system (VLS) system. The HQ-16 has a range of up to 50 km, with superior range and engagement angles to the Type 154's HQ-7. The Type 154A's VLS uses a hot launch method; a shared common exhaust system is sited between the two rows of rectangular launching tubes. The four AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) of the Type 154 were replaced with two Type 730 CIWS on the Type 154. The autonomous Type 730 provides improved reaction time against close-in threats.

Sinking

The Huangshan, along with other Yuaneze naval vessels, had been participating in the largest ever SCA naval exercise and were conducting live-fire exercises when they strayed into Gangkou territory. Satellite data published by the navy and authenticated by the Tofino Times showed at least 6 Yuaneze vessels entering the 50-mile threshold of Gangkou's territorial waters, with the Huangshan beginning a barage of fire which ultimately was directed towards the densely populated island. Transcripts from the 3rd Fleet vessels patrolling Gangkou were also released, confirming dozens of warnings to the Yuaneze vessels to turn around and cease fire.

"They [the Yuaneze vessels] responded to the warnings," said 3rd Fleet Admiral Ashton Sheppard, "and they indicated that they were quote 'within their right to continue their exercises'. When our communicators warned that their live fire presented a threat to the island, they responded assertively and told us that they would continue regardless of our warnings. This was subsequently met with an additional warning in which we stated retaliatory and deadly action would be taken if the ships did not comply. The ships did not comply, and we gave them additional warnings. They had every chance to heed those warnings, and they did not."

Sheppard detailed the rest of the engagement, saying that "fighter jets were scrambled to observe the Huangshan and its accompanying vessels, and they also delivered warnings which went unheeded. At a point roughly half an hour after the Huangshan began opening fire, our fleet command ordered the ZMS Charbonneau to engage in accordance with our warnings. The ZMS Charbonneau fired two missiles and neutralized the Huangshan, which has since sunk."

Aftermath

The Yuaneze government reacted in outrage to the sinking, and President Xi Jingyi called the sinking a "deliberate act of sabotage and assertive attack by an enemy nation, likely Zamastan" as the Yuaneze navy and its allies concluded extensive naval exercises. According to the government, "a massive explosion rocked the Huangshan under circumstances that indicate deliberate malice," and the Minister of National Defense General Wei Shui said "all intelligence points to a Zamastanian missile strike." The Yuaneze government initially did not release the number of casualties, nor the names of sailors killed, but confirmed that there were "numerous fatalities". They later confirmed that 317 sailors had died.

While the Yuaneze navy maintains that their ship was well within international waters when it was sunk, satellite image and geolocation provided by both the Zamastanian military and independent sources, including the Tofino Times, Jade Tribune, and other international intelligence sources, place the Huangshan only 27 miles off the coast of Gangkou's southern tip, which is well within the 50-mile boundary demarked by international law and territorial allowance. Zamastanian intellgience sources stated that there were survivors of the sinking, though the factors were not yet known. The type-154 frigate has a crew compliment of 430 sailors, including officers.

The sinking was the latest in a series of dramatic tensions between Yuan and Zamastan, as well as their allies in the region and internationally. The Zamastanian Air Force scrambled multiple fighter jets the day prior in order to intercept De Yuaneze warplanes that breached the territorial airspace of Gangkou during a massive series of military exercises by the Shanghan Cooperation Alliance member states in the Sancheon Gulf and the Jinchon Sea. Zamastanian naval vessels also warded off multiple Yuaneze ships from both Gangkou and Siniapore, which reported several breaches as well. The 3rd Fleet under the flagship nuclear aircraft carrier ZMS Dubois, stationed in the region, had deployed as a deterent to continued military buildup by Yuan.

Reactions

Zamastan

President Atticus Moreau, in his strongest condemnation of Yuan to date, warned that "President Xi's recklessness is bringing the lives of both his own countrymen, Gangkou, the region, and the world as a whole into contention. The Yuaneze military must completely end their ongoing exercises, leave the territorial respect of Gangkou, and unconditionally admit their fault to this tragic outcome with the Huangshan."

Gangkou's governor, Wan Yahui Croston, strongly condemned the breach of airspace and maritime boundaries by the Yuaneze People's Liberation Force, saying "such reckless activity only serves to create tension and a dangerous situation. President Xi Jingyi knows what he is doing by poking the stick at the bee's nest. Eventually, the bees will react, and at that point Xi will understand the mistake he's made. I strongly encourage the Yuaneze government and military to step back their reckless exercises and to focus on their own sovereignty rather than the non-negotiable redistinguishing of Gangkou, which is a Zamastanian territory."