On 16th September, China Navy launched its largest-even manoeuvres with an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific around Taiwan. As per reports, the exercise was conducted to flex military muscle to push back against the US and its allies.
As per a Financial Times report, two Asian security officials said that China’s Shandong, which is the second largest aircraft carrier, was on course to converge with over 20 other Chinese warships. The exercise took place in the waters between Taiwan, the Philippines and the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Su Tzu-yun, an analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a defence-ministry-backed think-tank in Taipei, said, “This is by far the largest number of ships we have seen training with any Chinese carrier so far. They are expressing their displeasure with the various military exercises that have been underway in their periphery.”
The defence ministry of Taiwan counted 20 PLA warships in the waters around the country on the morning of September 12. Though the ministry did not provide more details on the matter, there was an announcement on 11th September that Shandong had sailed through Bashi Channel which separates Taiwan from the Philippines. Japan also reported eight PLA naval vessels into the Pacific via the Miyako Strait, which is located south of Okinawa. Japan spotted six missile destroyers and two frigates in those waters.
Since 2021, the Liaoning and the Shandong have conducted several training missions in the Western Pacific. However, those missions had smaller groups of ships. Mostly, there were four destroyers or frigates with one support ship in those missions. However, this time, China’s Navy conducted a much larger mission.
As per Ian Ellis, founder of IEJ Media, over 20 ships were deployed by China, a new single-day record. Over 160 planes were also detected by the agencies. Three Surface Action Groups reportedly participated in the drills.
China’s government or the Navy did not announce the drills. Reportedly, the drills stimulated a blockade in the region.
Furthermore, Ian said in one of the posts on X (formerly Twitter) that China violated the Air Defence Identifier Zone as 161 Chinese warplanes were detected around Taiwan, and 86 of them reportedly crossed into Taiwan’s air defence Zone.
Notably, China’s action appeared to be a response to a series of US-led military exercises in four locations around China. At least two dozen nations participated in those exercises. In August, Japan, Australia and the Philippines conducted a naval drill led by the US. Later, the US also conducted a bilateral sail with a Philippines’ ship and a joint coast guard operation with Thailand.
In September first week, South Korea, Canada, and the US participated in a drill on the anniversary of a Korean war battle. Later, the US and South Korea conducted a joint sail in the Yellow Sea. A week before China’s naval mission, the US, Japan and Canada operated in the East China Sea. Later, a US destroyer and a Canadian frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
A joint drill led by the US and Indonesia with 19 nations was underway while China was conducting its mission in the nearby waters.