Recently, the direction of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea has been really lively. At a time when China and the DPRK are emphasizing the need to strengthen tactical cooperation between the two sides, the armed forces of the two countries have organized a series of military operations. As soon as the PLA fleet went to sea, the DPRK immediately took action, making the entire Yellow Sea and the peninsula lively.
[North Korea conducts four missile test launches in 10 days]
And this unusual situation, the United States and South Korea were also the first to notice it.
According to the South Korean military, North Korea recently fired several cruise missiles in the direction of the Yellow Sea. South Korean forces speculate that the North Korean missile was launched from an inland area of Pyongan Province. However, due to the fact that the flight time of the missile captured by the relevant equipment of the ROK military was only a few tens of minutes, the flight distance of the missile was also shorter than that of the missiles tested by the DPRK several times before. South Korean and U.S. intelligence have not deduced more details about the missile for the time being. It is also unclear which missile the North Korean side launched this time.
In fact, this is the fourth time in 10 days that North Korea has launched missiles into the surrounding waters. In the previous three test launches, the DPRK test-fired the new "Rocket-3-31" strategic cruise missile, which is suspected to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and launched the "Arrow-2" strategic cruise missile once.
Moreover, of the four missile test launches, the DPRK aimed its missiles at the Yellow Sea three times, and only one test fired them in the direction of the Sea of Japan.
Although the DPRK side has stressed that the test launches have nothing to do with the regional situation after these missile tests, the outside world can actually see that the DPRK has conducted missile tests so frequently to demonstrate its strike capability, to a large extent, it is deterring the United States, Japan, and South Korea, coping with changes in the situation on the peninsula, and forcing the United States, South Korea, and other countries to stop their dangerous actions.
[North Korea's previously test-fired rocket-3-31 strategic cruise missile]
As everyone knows, since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration came to power and South Korea's foreign policy has been greatly adjusted, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has become increasingly tense, and even at a time when the election of members of the South Korean Congress and the US presidential election are getting closer, the dangerous actions of the United States and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula issue are still increasing instead of abating.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced in his New Year's address that he would complete an upgraded version of the US-South Korean "extended deterrence" system by July, triggering a fierce reaction from the North Korean side.
The militaries of the two countries also frequently hold military activities on the peninsula and its surrounding areas, and Japan often sends ships and planes of the Self-Defense Forces to participate. In mid-January, the fleets of the three countries, including the USS Carl Vinson, gathered in the East China Sea for a large-scale joint exercise.
After that, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier battle group returned to the western Pacific and formed a huge naval fleet with the USS Roosevelt battle group and the helicopter carrier "Ise" dispatched by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to conduct a new round of exercises in the waters of the western Pacific.
Although the U.S. and Japanese actions were carried out in response to changes in the situation in the direction of the entire western Pacific, and the main target was China and Russia, the presence of such a fleet in a position that was only a few days away from the peninsula was enough to raise the alarm of the North Korean side.
[U.S. and Japanese fleets show off force in the Philippine Sea]
Not to mention, these three ships are not all the maritime forces that Washington can mobilize in the western Pacific, the US aircraft carrier "Reagan" is now being maintained in the port of Yokosuka in Japan, and Japan and South Korea also have more forces to devote to military operations in the direction of the peninsula.
It should be noted that many of the actions of the United States, Japan, and South Korea are not only aimed at North Korea, but also by stirring up the situation in Northeast Asia, which in turn has a negative impact on China and Russia. Therefore, the actions of the United States, Japan, and South Korea in the direction of the peninsula are actually what China has been paying attention to.
Against this background, some of the actual combat exercises and training operations normally organized by the PLA in accordance with the annual training program have indeed had a certain deterrent effect while achieving the goal of training troops and preparing for war.
According to official information, in mid-January, a number of ships of the East China Sea Fleet formed a maritime formation and conducted an actual combat exercise in a certain sea area of the East China Sea.
[The Navy of the Eastern Theater Theater organized a naval combat exercise]
A few days later, the Kaifeng, Chengdu, and Zaozhuang warships under the North Sea Fleet also formed a formation and rushed to a certain area of the Yellow Sea to conduct a multi-discipline actual combat exercise. Judging from the relevant images, the Chinese Navy organized training in subjects such as live ammunition shooting during these two exercises.
In addition to the live-fire exercises in the first island chain, the Chinese Navy, consisting of the Type 052C destroyer Changchun and the Type 054A frigate Yiyang, recently crossed the Miyako Strait and entered the waters of the western Pacific Ocean.
In addition, the Dalian Maritime Safety Administration recently banned sailing, saying that between January 28 and February 4, the People's Liberation Army will carry out a military mission in the Bohai Strait and the northern Yellow Sea. Although the ban is likely to be related to actions such as weapons and equipment tests and ship sea trials, it cannot be ruled out that there are other special actions.
In addition, the shore-to-ship missile units of the Northern Theater conducted sea strike drills on the Shandong Peninsula and other operations. In fact, the PLA's preparations for war in the direction of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in response to changes in the situation on the Korean Peninsula or in the Taiwan Strait have entered a new stage.
[The shore-to-ship missile unit of the Northern Theater conducts a sea-to-sea strike drill on the Shandong Peninsula]
It is true that this series of actions by the Chinese and DPRK militaries are all independent actions arranged separately according to their own strategic needs and relevant plans, but at a time when the situation in Northeast Asia continues to be tense and China and the DPRK are facing many similar external threats, the actions organized by the two sides can still play a certain role in tactical coordination and achieve the effect of 1+1>2.
More importantly, the cooperation between China and the DPRK on the regional situation is being further deepened. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myung-ho just exchanged views on the regional situation and other issues, and the DPRK side clearly stressed that the two sides will strengthen tactical coordination and safeguard common core interests.
Although it is difficult for China and the DPRK to carry out bilateral military operations similar to Sino-Russian joint patrols in the Yellow Sea and other places due to many reasons such as differences in military technology, as the two countries set the tone for cooperation in strengthening tactical coordination, there should be more and more cases like the current situation in which the two countries exert their efforts in one direction and jointly respond to changes in the situation.