President Peng Wu is the Commander-in-Chief of China six months after the cure for the Red Flu was found, who served as one of the main villains of the third season.
Biography[]
Not much is known about Peng's background except that he was born on October 6, 1974 and attended the University of International Business and Economics as an undergraduate. Peng is the former Minister of State Security in China. When the Red Flu pandemic broke out he and the rest of the top leadership of China retreated to the state bunker to protect themselves. Peng was the only one to emerge once a cure was found and it is rumored that he killed all the top leadership of the Chinese government in the bunker and waited for the cure next to their rotting bodies.
After the Americans managed to develop a cure for the Red Flu, Peng grabbed power and became the president of China. Peng partnered with the American government to supposedly spread the cure across Asia, but Peng had other plans. Peng had his scientists develop a gas that makes one immune to the cure and planned to spread it across Asia to wipe out all its people and cultures, save for China. Peng contracted a pirate named Wu Ming to help smuggle the anti-cure across the seas.
Peng starts by bombing Japan with the anti-cure and then gives them the cure to spread knowing it won't work. As a result most of the Japanese people are killed and starts planning to do the same thing to Vietnam but before that, a group of smugglers lead by a woman named Jesse stumbled upon his missiles with the anti-cure in Guangzhou. As a result, Peng's Minister of State Security Lau Hu, who was leading the mission, ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to massacre the group to cover their tracks. All the smugglers are killed including Jesse's brother but Jesse manages to escape and Lau orders the missiles to be fired over Vietnam, infecting and killing hundreds more.
Peng eventually discovers the smugglers were smuggling the cure across Asia and a US diplomat named Sasha Cooper was helping them. Peng started having problems when his ships were being raided by a Japanese pirate and his crew named Takehaya and the Americans start to get suspicious of Peng. In response to these growing threats, Peng formulates a plan to turn both these threats against each other and have them kill each other.
Events of The Last Ship[]
When Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Tom Chandler arrives to the summit with all the leaders of Asia, Peng greets him personally they both exchange greetings. At the meeting with the Asian leaders, including Laos, Cambodia, India and Vietnam, CNO Chandler proposes a toast to their host, Peng proposes a toast Chandler right back for delivering the cure to the world. When Chandler accuses Peng of not working hard enough to spread the cure across Asia, Peng claims he is doing the best he can under the circumstances and Chandler says that they will distribute the cure if Peng will not and Peng leaves to attend other matters with Lau. After the summit, Peng argues with Chandler that warlords, pirates, and their neighbors continually attack him and Chandler's former ship is delivering the cure to Vietnam, his enemy which Chandler defends as a humanitarian mission. After the Nathan James is attacked while in Vietnam, Peng gloats to Chandler, saying now he will see the true enemy of peace. Peng then orders a bomb placed on Chandler's plane to have him killed. Unfortunately, Chandler disembarks at the last minute to help his former crew and the bomb only kills the crew and Valerie Raymond. (“The Scott Effect”)
Peng then has Lau and his team try to kill Chandler and his allies, Wolf Taylor and Sasha Cooper but they fail and they escape. It is revealed that Peng also ordered the murder of Wolf's security team in Hong Kong. Peng then calls President Mishener and tells him that Chandler's plane crashed due to mechanical issue and claims rogue elements are responsible. After Peng hangs up he turns to Lau and demands he find Chandler or they will be at war with America. Peng's men ultimately fail to capturing Chandler and his allies and they make it onto the Nathan James. (“Rising Sun”)
When Peng hears the Nathan James is in Shanzhai, he sends Lau and a team of MSS security officers to kill Chandler and his followers. His men ultimately fail to kill anyone save for four pirates, including Kenji and six MSS officers are killed in the operation. (“Shanzhai”)
To limit Chandler's movements, Peng orders his South Sea fleet of four Chinese Destroyers to dock at the only refueling port for a thousand miles in Pho Kong. As Peng takes a swim in his pool, he sees Chandler with an assault rifle above him who says they need to talk. While heading for Peng's office, Peng comments on how he sees why Chandler is famous for his success rates, they refuse to die. Peng stalls opening his door but is shocked to see Chandler has control of his security systems and has his team open the door. They enter his office and sees Sasha and chastises her for betraying him after giving her access to his country's resources and even turning a blind eye to Sasha helping Jesse's group steal and distribute the cure themselves. After Wolf enters the room Chandler demands Peng to remove the Destroyers from the port to have the Nathan James refuel. When Peng threatens war with the US Chandler threatens to have Peng drowned in his pool if he doesn't cooperate. Peng calls Chandler's bluff, saying he is too good a man to do that, Wolf responds he will. Chandler says in exchange for his cooperation the US will acknowledge he had no part in the Vietnam attack and the bombing of Chandler's plane and Peng reluctantly agrees.
When they bring up Takehaya's name, Peng reveals he has been hunting Takehaya and has a map with islands he has searched for his location. When Lau approaches, Peng opens the door and pretends everything is fine and asks to be left alone. When Chandler asks Peng why he tried to have him killed, Peng deflects and says now they have a common enemy in Takehaya and will let him go to deal with him. After Lau catches Chandler and his team, Peng orders Lau to stand down and lets Chandler go, telling him to kill Takehaya. As he leaves, Chandler tells Peng they will meet again and Peng responds that he is looking forward to it. Peng then tells his security team that all this never happened. (“Devil May Care”)
When Peng hears the Nathan James have found Takehaya's hideout in Kumonosu Island, he sends his four Chinese Destroyers and a team of MSS security officers to kill Chandler, Takehaya and any other survivors of the conflict. His men ultimately fail to kill anyone and nineteen MSS officers are killed. (“Dog Day”)
The four Chinese Destroyers try to sink the Nathan James and everyone onboard but as they close in they are lead into a minefield and one Destroyer is destroyed as a result. The remaining Destroyers break off their pursuit as a result and the Nathan James escapes again. It is later discovered Takehaya got the location of the Nathan James the night Takehaya's pirates killed abducted and killed several members of the crew in Vietnam from Wu Ming in exchange for him not pirating certain ships. (“In the Dark”)
After Peng hears President Michener is dead, Peng sends a video conveying his respect and condolences. Peng later ordered Shanzhai bombed, killing all of its inhabitants in an effort to kill and silence Wu Ming. When Peng learns Ming survived and is hiding in Yunma with his family, he sends Lau and a team of MSS agents to torture him for information and to kill them all afterwards. Unfortunately Lau and his team are killed by Chandler and his crew when they are looking for the same information. Chandler discovers that Peng handed the location of the Nathan James to Wu and the ships Ming wanted to protect were Peng's, which were carrying the anti-cure. Peng eventually hears from his Defense Minister Shu Zhen Chao that Lau failed his mission and was killed. Peng criticizes the Defense Minister for failing numerous times to find and destroy the Nathan James and slaps him in shame. Peng decides to accelerate his plans and orders Korea to be hit with the anti-cure immediately having his Destroyer the Sea Dragon transport it and demands the Nathan James be destroyed. (“Sea Change”)
It is eventually discovered that Peng had a mole who has been suppling him with information directly from the US White House. This info allowed Peng to be tipped to the location of Nathan James in Vietnam the night of Takehaya's attack, when the Nathan James docked in Shanzhai looking for information on the hostages, and to the location of Takehaya's hideout when the Nathan James launched their rescue operation. Peng also received a recent tip that the Sea Dragon was being pursed by the Nathan James and two other US Destroyers, the Shackleton and the Hayward, along the Formosa Strait. As a result, Peng sets up an ambush to sink all three ships with a land strike using a missile battery. Peng's men successfully destroy the Shackleton and damage the Hayward beyond repair, but the Nathan James manages to survive and destroys both the missile battery and the Sea Dragon with all the crew and anti-cure on board. When Peng receives the news that the Sea Dragon was destroyed and it cannot be confirmed that all three ships were sunk, he swipes his forearm across a map knocking over all the pieces in anger. The mole is eventually revealed to be the White House Chief of Staff, Allison Shaw. (“Paradise”)
Peng charters a course to Tokyo, Japan with the two destroyers he has to continue his plan to destroy Japan's culture. It is also revealed Shaw worked with Peng to have Chandler killed and weaken America's armed forces so she and the other regional leaders could usurp the President and take power and they would turn a blind eye to what Peng was doing. (“Scuttle”)
Peng personally leads his men into the Japanese National Archives and after having one of his men destroy a statue of a Japanese god of luck, tells them to steal only the most valuable while burning the rest. In the middle of the operation, the land team lead by Peng and the destroyer guarding his position the Henan are ambushed by a combination of Japanese pirates and US Navy officers. Though Peng has positioned his second destroyer to take out the Henan if anything seems to go wrong, the Nathan James is able to shoot down the missiles fired at Vulture team while Mike Slattery uses Henan's weapons to take out Peng's second destroyer. Peng attempts to flee as his men battle the American and Japanese forces. His men manage to kill three of Takehaya's men, but he is confronted by Takehaya. Outside the Archives, Peng and Takehaya fire at each other, only inflicting minor wounds. Peng gloats that he has won and just like his people, Takehaya will be erased from history. Just as he goes to pull the trigger, Takehaya kicks the gun out of Peng's hands and stabs Peng in the chest with a katana that had been lying nearby to be burned. Chandler tries to get Peng to give up his mole, but Peng just gloats how his government betrayed him, sent him to China to die and killed his friend President Jeffrey Michener and that he is alone. Mortally wounded, Peng shoves the sword the rest of the way through himself, committing suicide. (“Legacy”)
Legacy[]
His actions left millions dead, including the previous Chinese administration, those poisoned in Japan and Vietnam, over three hundred US Navy personnel, Jesse's brother and smuggler friends, Valerie Raymond, Wolf's security team, at least seven pirates, Kenji, the citizens of Shanzhai, and Kanoa. Three US naval officers were killed alongside Valerie in a plane bombing while the entire crew of two hundred and fifteen onboard the Shackleton including Captain Hicks and eighty-five personnel on board the Hayward were killed by Peng's missile battery. They also left many survivors, most notably in Japan, Vietnam and the surviving crew of the Hayward, emotionally scarred.
Pirates[]
This section is for people killed or effected by pirates through his manipulations
Peng also manipulated Takehaya and his men to blame the American government for the deaths of the Japanese people and staged a war with both sides to eliminate his enemies. Many were killed in the conflict that ensued on the American, Japanese, and Vietnamese sides. Those killed at the party in Hai Phong, Vietnam include eight members of the Vietnamese security team, at least two Vietnamese civilians, five Japanese pirates, and five members of the Nathan James' crew. AW1 G. Lincoln, Riley, Harris, and DaCunha were killed by Takehaya's men at the party by either shooting them or blowing up the helicopter the Nathan James was using.
Lt (jg). Will Mason died of a gunshot he received in the altercation at the party after he was abducted with other crew members after the pirates pumped him dry of his blood. After the party, eight Japanese pirates were killed by Burk and Danny after they escaped being captured and seven were blown up by grenades fired onto their ship by Chandler and Wolf. Another Nathan James crew member named Kudelski was killed by one of the mines Takehaya's men set. During the assault on Takehaya's compound, thirteen pirates and three members of the Nathan James' crew were killed. Wallace, Butler and MA1 Javier Cruz were all shot in the neck and Takehaya's second-in-command Toshiro was stabbed in the neck with scissors by Rios.