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Whom, If Not China, Is US Aircraft Carriers' Moving onto South China Sea Directed Against?
US Carrier USS Constellation Visits Hong Kong
From August 20 to 25, a group of US Constellation aircraft carriers paid a port visit to Hong Kong. However, just three days before they arrived in Hong Kong, the Constellation aircraft carriers held a one-day large-scale joint military exercise in the South China Sea together with the Carl Vinson which replaced them to go to cruise the Gulf region. Since the place and time of the military manoeuvre were very sensitive, there were many discussions about this. What subject-related exercise did they carry out in the South China Sea? And what was the aim of the joint military exercise?
A "Pure Coincidence" of the Meeting of the Two Aircraft CarriersThe meeting of the two groups of aircraft carriers in the South China Sea itself had attracted people's attention, the reasons are very simple, when the groups combine, they form a very terrible military force. A spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet said that the two groups of aircraft carriers had a combined total of 14 water surface and underwater combat submarines, over 130 warship-carrying fighters of various types, more than 20 air force fighters on the warship, as well as 15,000-plus officers and men.
In the words of the Americans, the meeting of the two groups of aircraft carriers on the international waters of the South China Sea was "pure coincidence", because the Carl Vinson which recently just steered off the Port of Bremerton of the state of Washington and was prepared to hurry to the West Pacific and the Middle East Region to carry out routine tasks for a period of six months, while the Constellation had just completed the half-year overseas deployment tasks and was ready to return to San Diego port of the US proper for rest and reorganization, therefore the two groups of aircraft carriers unexpectedly encountered on August 17 in the international waters of the South China Sea and took this opportunity to hold a one-day joint military exercise.
The Manoeuvre Aims to Cope with Anti-ship MissilesAlthough the top US military officials kept the military exercise a secret, the official websites of the commands of the 7th Fleet and the Pacific Fleet of the US naval force, however, had both disclosed part of the content of the excise.
US Carrier USS Constellation Visits Hong Kong
How to deal with the low-altitude anti-ship missiles was the core content of the military exercise, particularly the Russia-made Sunburn anti-ship missiles used specially to attack aircraft carriers. In this core-subject drill, two warship-loaded early warning planes on the aircraft carrier flew together over the sky to search the inroad anti-ship missiles; how should the warship-carrying F-14 fighter, the F/A-18 fighter attack plane, the EA-6B electronic war attacker and the warship-carrying Sea Sparrow missiles on the aircraft carrier, only when they carried out the exercise in light of the warning of the early-warning plane before they could bring down those anti-ship missiles that skim over the sea and fly at low altitude, while the final life-saving talisman-the short-distance closely grouped firing system of the aircraft carriers is to conduct ball firing.
The nature of high-tech war determines that modern war is definitely a combined operation featuring the integration of many services, therefore, this time the two groups of aircraft carriers and 20 US air force fighters conducted joint drill; of course, other war vessels of the group of aircraft carriers also conducted different subject training such as how to protect aircraft carriers and underwater surprise attacks. The entire exercise was centered around the Constellation aircraft carrier group to conduct exercise in an air, water surface and under water, three-dimensional way.
"We Do Not Direct the Exercise at China"The joint exercise carried out by US aircraft carriers is a military action rarely seen in recent years. Observers of international issues, military analysts and media have published many comments on the intentions and aims of the exercise.
In releasing news on August 19 about the exercise, the official website of the US 7th Fleet said that the meeting of the two major aircraft carriers groups in the South China Sea demonstrated "the United States' determination to maintain peace and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and safeguard the right of free navigation", the aim of the exercise was to coordinate the combined operational capabilities of the two major aircraft carriers.
On August 19, spokesman for the 7th Fleet indicated that the exercise was by no means to transmit any information to China, the reason why the exercise was carried out on the international waters of the South China Sea was only because the two aircraft carrier groups passed by the South China Sea at the same time; in the news released on August 20 by the official website of the 7th Fleet once again indicated that they absolutely had no intention to direct the exercise held three days ago against China, furthermore, the Constellation had arrived in Hong Kong on August 20 for a five-day port visit there.
Whom Is It Directed Against, If Not China?An AFP correspondent stationed in Hong Kong pointed out sharply that at the time when the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was launching large-scale exercise aimed at crossing the sea and seizing the beach in Fujian Province, drilling for storming and occupying islands and attacking aircraft carriers with missiles, the massive military exercise conducted by US aircraft carriers in the South China Sea was aimed obviously at displaying their strength to China; the British independent military analyst Beaver noted more bluntly, "the joint military drill by the two groups of aircraft carriers on the South China Sea was by no means a coincidence. While US armed forces were preparing for the exercise, they should have been well aware that the Chinese People's Liberation Army was holding exercise in Dongshan Island!" US military analysts were of the opinion that the move of the US armed forces was to display their strength before China, indicating that they were following closely the situation in the Taiwan Straits, because prior reports said that 100,000 PLA troops were launching large-scale exercise aimed at seizing beach and landing in Dongshan Island of Fujian Province, since Dongshan Island is located in the Taiwan Straits, plus the fact that it looks very much like Taiwan Island in topography, the exercise was very close to an actual fight against Taiwan.
What is more meaningful is that often as long as US aircraft carriers got close to the nearby waters of Taiwan Island, Taiwan media and the Taiwan military invariably were just like clutching a blade of life-saving straw, saying what US aircraft carriers would act. But this time they behaved quite differently. The Taiwan military did not utter a single word about the exercise, a high-ranking Taiwan general not wanting to be identified indicated that although the time and place of the exercise were quite sensitive, they had nothing to do with the military manoeuvre conducted by the mainland on Dongshan Island. He also said that even if the US troops really wanted to back up Taiwan, it would only be moving the "Eaglet" stationed in Japan's Yokosuka Port throughout the year, and a garrison relief of the Carl Vinson and the Constellation, aimed at stabilizing the situation in the Gulf region, and had nothing to do with the situation in the Taiwan Straits.
Can the PLA Sink the Aircraft Carriers?As a matter of fact, whether or not the two aircraft carrier groups spearheaded the PLA's military manoeuvre, the PLA has had quite a strong deterrent force against aircraft carriers.
According to the latest reports of Hong Kong-based Wen Wai Pao, the Chinese armed forces are entirely capable of keeping fixed and moving targets under surveillance on the southeast coasts and nearby waters, they can discover, trace and identify military vessels of medium type and above and keep all-weather and all-time watch on large war vessels (mainly aircraft carriers), so as to safeguard the unification of the country.
The PLA not only has the ability to gaze firmly at enemy aircraft carriers, but also the ability to attack them. Reports from Hong Kong-based Sing Tao Jih Pao say that aircraft carrier-headed troops, and combat groups composed of nuclear-powered submarines, destroyers, minesweepers and anti-submarine escort vessels had many times sailed near the Taiwan Straits when military crisis occurred there to abet the Taiwan troops, thus making the PLA face a big military threat. However, in the PLA's arsenal, there are already three kinds of weapons capable of countering aircraft carriers, they are Modern Missile warship, Lilo-Class nuclear-powered submarines and Dongfeng-15 nuclear missiles (of course, the PLA absolutely will not use nuclear weapons unless there is no other alternative). Given this, the modern destroyer with a displacement of 7,000 tons, which is equipped with eight Sunburn warship-to-warship missiles and 44 sea-to-space missiles become a life-taking weapons used to cope with an aircraft carrier group. The combat unit made up of the "Modern" destroyer, the "Kilo" submarine, the Su-30 aircraft, and early-warning plane will become the weapons overcoming enemy aircraft carrier groups, and is the PLA's conventional main-force unit counter-attacking and ambushing enemy reinforcements. The PLA now has two "Modern" destroyers and four "Kilo-Class" submarines. And it has planned to import two war vessels of the similar type from Russia next year. By then, the four fleets composed of these warships will become the strong opponents of enemy aircraft carriers.
Commander: "I'm Only a Sailor"On August 20, when the Constellation arrived in Hong Kong, Commander Major Terrence Etnyre was interviewed by Hong Kong media.
When asked about what diplomatic information he was to transmit this time when in shore in Hong Kong, he evaded the question, saying that the questions should be answered by government or ambassador. He kept on explaining, saying "I'm only a sailor." At the same time, he stressed that being in shore in Hong Kong aimed mainly at maintenance and supplies, and providing sailors with a chance for rest and consumption, so that they could buy gifts for their wives and girl friends. When asked about Constellation joining with the Carl Vinson in the military exercise on the South China Sea, he explained that there were not many opportunities for the two aircraft carrier groups in their best conditions to meet each other, therefore, from the naval angle, they must make full use of such opportunity. That they met and held manoeuvre last time was a matter several years ago. With regard to the place of exercise, General Terrence Etnyre said that was purely accidental. If the Constellation arrived one or two days earlier, perhaps the two aircraft carriers would have met in the West Pacific. Or if the Constellation met with the Carl Vinson three or four days later, then the place for the exercise might be in the Indian Ocean.
People's Daily Online
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