The United States and Canada held large-scale exercises in the Yellow Sea, treating China as an imaginary enemy. In this case, the PLA is not polite at all, sending a guided-missile destroyer directly into the exercise area to monitor the every move of the entire American and Canadian fleet at a very close distance, and the two sides have entered each other's visual range of naval guns.
(PLA warships rushed into the exercise area of the US-Canada fleet, photographed by US aircraft)
From the live picture released by Canadian television, in the middle is the "American" amphibious assault ship (LHA-6), which can carry F-35B vertical takeoff and landing stealth fighters; Closely followed by an "Arleigh Burke" destroyer, in front of a submarine of unknown nationality and model, and the closest place in the picture is a 052D destroyer of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
(On-site situation)
The distance between the two sides should not exceed a nautical mile, and holding binoculars, you can see the expressions on the faces of sailors in the portholes of the opposing battleship. It was the first large-scale U.S. exercise in the Yellow Sea in nearly a decade, under the pretext of commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the Inchon landing and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S.-ROK alliance, in effect to demonstrate deterrence. Canada also sent a frigate Vancouver to the Yellow Sea, but it is not in the opening picture.
(Canadian frigate, inferior in performance to 054A)
Since we are clearly using us as imaginary enemies, there is no need for us to hide it, after all, the Yellow Sea is our home turf and we have to adapt to our "rules". The PLA directly sent a 052D destroyer up to serve you as a "sparring partner" to increase the actual combat meaning of your exercise.
(Inside the circle is the PLA warship)
Anyway, for the PLA, the US-Canadian fleet exercising in the Yellow Sea is a "sparring partner" sent to the door, and it is simply a waste of resources if it is not well used to aim at an anti-ship exercise. At such a close distance, just looking at the picture, I thought that the PLA was conducting formation exercises with the US military.
(052D rushed up, the naval gun seemed to turn direction, but it was too vague to confirm)
The exercise took place on the high seas, not the territorial waters of either side, but the smell of gunpowder was still strong. There are comments that the 130-mm main gun of the PLA's 052D battleship seems to have turned the gun muzzle and pointed at the US-Japan-Canada fleet. The picture is not clear, and it is impossible to confirm whether the gun port is reversed, but if the battleship turns the gun port to point at the other side, it is a deterrent, indicating that the opponent's behavior has crossed our boundary.
In addition to naval gun pointing, commonly used deterrence methods include turning on fire control radar, laser irradiation, etc., and may even directly ram the other side with ships. In the South China Sea, US destroyers have tasted the taste of PLA destroyers colliding and intercepting.
(Mighty 052D)
In 2013, the United States sent the USS Washington aircraft carrier battle group to conduct a large-scale exercise with South Korea in the Yellow Sea, but in the past decade, the US Navy has avoided sending aircraft carriers, usually just a warship, or at most a small formation to meaning, just to avoid overly provoking China.
The reason is simple, that is, in the past ten years, our comprehensive national strength has continued to increase, and our naval strength has undergone tremendous changes. Ten years ago, the Liaoning was just commissioned, and now the Chinese Navy has three aircraft carriers, the Fujian is the world's largest conventionally powered aircraft carrier, and three electromagnetic catapults.
(Fujian ship service concept)
For ten years, our 055 destroyers have built 8 in one go, installed multifunctional missile vertical launchers with a diameter of 850 mm, and can even launch anti-ship ballistic missiles, hitting carrier targets at 10 times the speed of sound at a distance of 1000 km. Even the Pentagon had to admit that the 055 destroyer was more practical than the "Zumwalt" and deservedly the world's first destroyer. In terms of tonnage and performance, the 055 is actually a standard missile cruiser.
In terms of today's naval strength, the gap between us and the US Navy is rapidly narrowing, and many technologies have achieved breakthroughs. The offshore range of 1,000 kilometers from Chinese mainland has become the home field advantage of the PLA. The US military think tank believes that once actual combat breaks out, it will be difficult for the US military in the first island chain to withstand the attack of the PLA.
(PLA 052C sailed into Pearl Harbor in 2014 to participate in Rim-Pacific exercise)
When the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battle group operates, one or two nuclear submarines must be sent to open the way in front to protect the underwater safety of the aircraft carrier. However, the average depth of the Yellow Sea is less than 100 meters, which is very unfavorable to the operation of nuclear submarines, which is why aircraft carriers are not suitable for driving into the Yellow Sea.
So why did the US military break the silence of ten years and engage in such large-scale exercises this time? There are two main reasons. The first is the situation on the Korean peninsula. Recently, the peninsula has changed and many new weapons have appeared, which has made South Korea feel greater military pressure, so it has to invite the US military to conduct large-scale joint exercises to bolster its courage. Even the purpose of the exercise was unabashed, commemorating the Inchon landing, a three-dimensional naval and air landing battle conducted by the U.S. military in 1950 under the cover of a powerful navy and air force.
(USS America)
The amphibious assault ship "America" sent this time is actually a medium-sized aircraft carrier with a displacement of 45,000 tons, completely canceled the dock, no air-cushioned landing craft, and relies entirely on aircraft to project troops. It can carry 20 F-35B stealth fighters, as well as more than 30 helicopters, such as the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor and the CH-53K Super Stallion heavy helicopter. The "American" can also carry 1,900 Marines, equivalent to the strength of a regiment, and use air assault to penetrate the rear depth of the opponent.
But in essence, the "United States" also completely relies on the system to fight, it must have air force, aircraft carrier and other cover, relying only on a few destroyers, support ships, it is difficult to gain a foothold in the Yellow Sea. Many comments say that the US military wants to rely on a "American" to intimidate the mainland, which is a serious statement, for us, it does not have the strength to reach the level of "intimidation".
(PLA 055)
Our dispatch of the 052D destroyer to follow closely this time is also an international practice. A large area of the Yellow Sea is high seas, we can't force them not to come, but everyone is "free navigation", you hit yours, I hit mine, since you are coming, don't be afraid of being "watched" by us. Observing the opponent's actions can also get some useful information, and you can even "interact" with the other party, test the opponent's reaction, and determine the opponent's true and false.
The PLA's approach shows that we are now very confident that we are now very mature in dealing with provocations by the US military exercises on our doorstep, both technically and tactically, and we know that any attempt to force China by force provocation is doomed to failure.