While the situation in Syria has changed suddenly, the tension in East Asia has become even more turbulent. In the past month, the United States has illegally sold arms to Taiwan many times in a row, and has also arranged for officials to meet with Taiwanese pseudo-officials who are visiting Hawaii, which seriously violates China’s red line and the one-China principle. China has not been soft this time, and has continuously launched economic and political countermeasures against the United States. It has also begun to confront the United States at the military level. It is expected that large-scale military exercises will be held in the Taiwan Strait in the next few days. Foreign media hyped that China has assembled nearly 90 warships and coast guard ships around Taiwan Island and is about to launch the third Taiwan siege exercise this year.
From the actual situation, we are indeed deploying troops on a large scale, and the exercise may have even begun. Seven airspace reservations have been designated in the southeastern coastal areas, reserved for military aircraft operations to ensure that there is no interference from civil airliners during the exercise. Since December 4, more than 10 Chinese warships have crossed the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific, not counting those entering the Western Pacific from other straits. Therefore, the number of warships deployed east of Taiwan Island alone is very terrifying, which shows that the scale of the exercise is indeed aimed at the entire Western Pacific island chain.
In contrast, the day with the largest number of PLA warships deployed around Taiwan Island so far was May 24 this year, when there were 27 warships around Taiwan Island, which was also the time for the Joint Sword 2024A Taiwan exercise. According to the Taiwan puppet government’s report, as of 6 a.m. on December 11, there were 53 PLA fighters, 11 PLA warships, and 8 coast guard ships operating around the Taiwan Strait. Due to the large scope of this military exercise, and the fact that the Taiwan puppet government always likes to conceal the truth, the number of troops deployed has definitely exceeded that of the Joint Sword 2024A.
The United States actually started preparing last month. They claimed that they would deploy three aircraft carriers to deal with China during the transition period of presidential power. In order to gather troops, the United States even transferred the USS Lincoln, which was fighting the Houthi armed forces in the Middle East. Currently, the USS Lincoln has rushed from the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea. Another aircraft carrier, the USS Washington, also ended its six-year maintenance last month and re-entered its home port in Yokosuka, Japan, to begin front-line deterrence missions. The third aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, has now departed from Hawaii and entered the waters of the Western Pacific . In other words, the United States has now deployed a three-carrier battle group around the coast of China, and it is obvious that it wants to test China’s true strength again.
Compared to 2016, the Chinese Navy has gone through another eight years of rapid development, and both the number of phased array shield ships and aircraft carriers has increased visibly. In addition to the 052D, the service of the 055 destroyer equipped with the Eagle Strike 21 hypersonic anti-ship missile has enabled the Chinese Navy to have the ability to accurately strike large enemy surface ships from a thousand kilometers away even without relying on fighter jets, and can completely fight against aircraft carriers under the cover of drones. After a year of major modifications and the high-intensity carrier-based aircraft takeoffs and landings of the Joint Sword 2024B, the Liaoning has also completely evolved into a combat ship, with the ability to attack and fight at the same time as the Shandong.
In addition to the navy, China’s air force has also grown in strength. With the large number of J-20 and J-16 aircraft in service, plus the strong support of the H-20, KJ-500 and KJ-2000, the shore-based aviation can at least control the air supremacy 1,000 kilometers outward from the coastline . The F35s on US aircraft carriers and bases in Japan and South Korea face the J-20 and a large number of drone swarms. It cannot be said that they have no chance of winning, but they will definitely be suppressed and probably have no chance of fighting back.
The Navy and the Air Force have already said that the strength of the Chinese Rocket Force must be known to the Americans. In the 2016 South China Sea confrontation, we directly drove away the American aircraft carrier by test-firing the Dongfeng 21D. Now we not only have the Dongfeng Express, but also a variety of killer weapons such as air-launched ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and long-range supersonic cruise missiles. Without exaggeration, any target within the second island chain will be hit as long as it is discovered by our satellites! The United States uses up to three aircraft carriers to test our military exercises and conduct military deterrence against us. This is a strategic-level test and also an extreme pressure on us, but as long as we learn from each other, the US military will know that China is much stronger than in 2016!