Despite China's opposition, the United States brazenly provided military assistance to India, which not only affected both sides of the war, but also affected many countries that were waiting and watching.

However, the responses of these countries are not consistent.

By noon on the 13th Beijing time, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar either clearly expressed their support for China's war or declared war on India. The Philippines officials later also expressed their support for China's legitimate demands. Four South Asian countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, remained silent and did not immediately make their position.

The attitudes and positions of these countries are completely understandable.

Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia are far away from the battlefield, have little strong relations with India, and have no economic exchanges, so they do not have to bear the consequences of the war. No matter what the outcome of the war, these countries will suffer minimally. Only by expressing their support for China in a timely manner can they gain more benefits. If China takes a step back, even if China is defeated, it will defend Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia and will not make major strategic concessions. Therefore, these countries are unlikely to be threatened by the United States. Some countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, need China to provide more sufficient security guarantees, and they need to show their positions and obtain China's assistance.

On the contrary, after the United States took action, South Asian countries, except Pakistan, were a little cautious.

The reason is very simple. If the United States participates in the war, it will inevitably lead to World War III. South Asia will definitely be the main battlefield. In order to avoid being poisoned by the war, South Asian countries must be more cautious. It is the wisest choice to maintain a relatively independent foreign policy until the situation is clear.

Of course, it cannot be said that these South Asian countries do not support China.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh still promise to open military bases to China, allowing China to use its military bases to strike targets in India, Nepal has also opened airspace to China, and is likely to open its territory after the Chinese Army's ground forces join the war.

For China, this support is enough.

Besides, the national strength and military strength of these South Asian countries are very limited. Bangladesh has only an army with less than 500,000 people, and its equipment is extremely backward. Sri Lanka does not even have a decent army. Nepal's situation is even worse, and China does not expect them to provide much help.

Judging from the situation at that time, the US's actions had the greatest impact on both sides of the war, especially the fleets of both sides.

On the night of the 12th, Simba also received a message from the Indian Navy Command, learning that the US President was actively promoting the aid bill, and a large number of US military equipment would be transported to Digo Garcia soon, and then sent to India by rapid transport ships. Therefore, within the next week, the fleet's main responsibility is to keep an eye on the task force, prevent the task force from entering the Western Indian Ocean, and ensure that the route from Digo Garcia to India is unobstructed. As for the Chinese submarines operating in the Indian Ocean, the United States will definitely arrange escort warships. Even if the United States does not arrange it, the Indian Navy can use anti-submarine patrol aircraft to clear obstacles on the waterway without the need for additional help from the fleet.

To put it bluntly, the main mission of the Indian fleet is to not fight decisively with the task force before this.

Simba understood this.

When both sides are evenly matched and have the ability to give a fatal blow to their opponents, as long as the Indian fleet is still active in the Indian Ocean, the task force will not go to the Western Indian Ocean, nor will it rashly attack the transport fleet. Therefore, the existing Indian fleet has the greatest strategic value.

If a decisive battle with the task force, India will lose its control of the sea unless it is defeated.

The result is obvious that without any security, the United States will definitely not allow fleets to travel to India, and will not be able to provide assistance to India.

The reason is very simple, but it will definitely be very difficult to actually operate.

First of all, the task force will not stay in the East Indian Ocean all the time, especially after the United States has made some statements, it will try every means to go to the West Indian Ocean, block Digo Garcia, and prevent the US fleet from going to India. This is also the best way to force the Indian fleet to come for a decisive battle.

Secondly, it is still unknown when the U.S. Congress can pass the aid bill, so no one knows when to fight the task force. If it continues, the situation of the Indian fleet will become very unfavorable because the task force will have enough time to search the entire Indian Ocean.

In the end, the Indian fleet had nowhere to go, and could neither enter the Bay of Bengal nor the Arabian Sea. If they deal with the task force, they could only sail south and enter the hinterland of the Indian Ocean. If they encounter a task force far away from India, the consequences would be even more unimaginable.

After considering these situations, Simba decided to lead a fleet to the Maldives Islands.

In any case, the Maldives is still a neutral country, and has not provided military facilities to China, nor has it clearly expressed its support for which side. More importantly, the Maldives is a "undefensive" country, with only one quasi-military force used to maintain domestic order, no regular army, and no air force or navy, so it is difficult to discover the Indian fleet in time and will not reveal its whereabouts.

In addition, the Maldives is close enough to India. Even its southernmost island is within 1,500 kilometers of the closest distance to India. Therefore, the fighter jets of the Indian Air Force can provide full coverage, and the anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy can undertake most reconnaissance missions.

Most importantly, if the task force travels to Digo Garcia, it will have to pass by near the Maldives Islands.

In other words, the Indian fleet can wait here for the task force to come to the door, and then launch an unexpected attack.

After thinking about it, Simba asked the fleet to turn to the Maldives.

Because most warships are conventionally powered, the Indian fleet is not fast, only twenty-two knots.

Only after sailing at this speed can fuel be replenished after arriving in the Maldives Islands. If the speed is accelerated, then replenishment will be required before this.

At this time, the task force was sailing west at full speed, with a speed of up to thirty-three knots.

In other words, every hour, the distance between the two fleets will be shortened by more than ten nautical miles, while the straight-line distance before this was more than 2,300 kilometers. If both sides do not change their course and adjust their speed, it will be shortened to less than two thousand kilometers in the morning of the 13th. As long as the reconnaissance planes sent by the task force fly in the right direction, the battle will begin on the afternoon of the 13th.

At that time, Mu Haoyang didn't know where the Indian fleet was, but his intuition told him that the Indian fleet had either arrived at the Maldives Islands or was rushing to the Maldives Islands. It was this intuition that made him order the fleet to sail west at full speed and look for a chance to fight.

After calming down, Mu Haoyang discovered that this was not just intuition, but a judgment based on practical experience.

In the vast Indian Ocean, in addition to the Southeast Asian archipelago in the northeast and several islands close to the African continent, the most conspicuous one is the Maldives Islands. In terms of geographical formation, Digo Garcia is also part of the Maldives Islands, but it has been artificially separated.

In a sense, the Maldives Islands are the barriers that divide the East and West Indian Oceans.

In this way, if the Indian fleet intends to prevent the task force from going to the Western Indian Ocean, it will defend the Maldives and build a sea and air defense line here. With the United States already providing India with a batch of fighter jets and is about to provide India with more military supplies, it is a foregone conclusion that the task force will go to the Western Indian Ocean. Therefore, no matter what it was doing before, the Indian fleet will go to the Maldives Islands.

The problem is that the Maldives Islands are about 1,300 kilometers long from north to south and about 200 kilometers wide from east to west. They are composed of dozens of islands and atolls of all sizes, with a total area of ​​nearly one million square kilometers. There are enough places for the fleet to hide, and it is not easy to find the Indian fleet here.

The bigger problem is that anti-submarine patrol aircraft deployed in Bangladesh and Myanmar cannot fly over.

Although Pakistan's air bases can be used, the Chinese Navy has not deployed anti-submarine patrol aircraft in Pakistan. If it is temporarily deployed, it will take at least several days to transfer logistics support equipment. After a few days, it may not be necessary for anti-submarine patrol aircraft to search for the Indian fleet.

In other words, on the Maldives Islands, the task force can only fight on its own strength.

On the contrary, the Indian fleet can receive cover and support from shore-based aviation, and can even use shore-based aviation to attack task force.

As one goes down and the other goes up, the advantage of the task force is gone.

When discussing this issue, Zhang Yuting clearly mentioned that if the Indian Navy first uses anti-submarine patrol aircraft to launch ultra-long-distance missile attacks, even if the threat is not very large, it can consume most of the air defense missiles on the escort warships. The Indian fleet can launch at least two air strikes, and the task force's air defense forces cannot cope with three waves of anti-ship missile attacks in one battle.

Obviously, the Indian fleet will not let the task force withdraw to replenish ammunition.

If this is true, even if the Indian fleet can be wiped out, the task force will suffer severe damage.

At that time, Zhang Yuting proposed to bomb the naval aviation base in southern India, that is, to try to prevent the Indian Navy's anti-submarine patrol aircraft from taking off. However, Mu Haoyang immediately rejected this suggestion because it was very likely that the task force would expose its whereabouts and be attacked by the Indian fleet in advance. More importantly, even if the Indian Navy's anti-submarine patrol aircraft is no longer a threat, the Indian Air Force's fighter aircraft can still play a role.

After careful consideration, Mu Haoyang realized that it was the most unwise choice to go directly to the Maldives Islands.

The reason is very simple, this is the battlefield chosen by the Indian fleet.

In the early morning of the 13th, after discussing with Zhang Yuting, Mu Haoyang ordered the fleet to turn south, stay away from India, and then head to the Maldives Islands.

Only by keeping a distance can we avoid being attacked by Indian shore-based air force.

Of course, this requires more time on the road.
Chapter completed!