Recently, the Philippine Navy for the first time jointly held a naval and air exercise in the South China Sea with the United States, Japan and Australia, although the Philippine official did not mention that the four-nation joint exercise was specifically aimed at the target, but in the context of continuous friction between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Philippine Navy joint military exercises with the United States, Japan and Australia have the intention of introducing extraterritorial military forces to confront China.
Judging from the information released by the Philippine side, the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines dispatched five warships to participate in the joint exercise in the South China Sea, of which the Philippines dispatched one Jose Riza-class frigate (port number FF151) and one Hurricane-class patrol boat, the United States dispatched the Littoral Combat Ship Mobile, Japan dispatched the destroyer "Akebosa" (ship number GG-108), and the Australian Navy dispatched the HMAS frigate (board number 152). The four countries gathered five warships and posed in various formations in the South China Sea, giving people a sense of "majesty".
It should be pointed out that the Jose Riza-class frigate dispatched by the Philippine Navy is the most advanced combat ship in service in the Philippines, built by South Korea, with a full load displacement of more than 3,000 tons, a stealth design, equipped with a 76 mm automatic naval gun, 4 anti-ship cruise missiles and 1 anti-submarine helicopter, and has a certain over-the-horizon anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. According to public information, the Philippine Navy currently has only two Jose Risa-class frigates, and one of them was dispatched in this joint exercise, which shows how much importance the Philippine authorities attach to the four-nation South China Sea exercise.
However, compared with the most advanced combat ships dispatched by the Philippine Navy, the United States, Japan, and Australia did not dispatch their own main ships, but second-rate ships with average performance, which shows that the United States, Japan, and Australia do not want to seize the limelight of the Philippine Navy. The advantages of the USS Mobile Littoral Combat Ship are fast speed and good stealth performance, but the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, the firepower is too weak, and it may not be able to win the PLA's 056A frigate. The Australian HMAS frigate has one 127 mm automatic naval gun, eight "Harpoon" anti-ship missiles and two sets of eight MK-41 missile vertical launch systems, and is equipped with a helicopter hangar and take-off and landing platform at the stern, and its comprehensive combat capability is not as good as the PLA's active 054A frigate. Japan's "Akebonoke" belongs to the "Murayu-class" destroyer, with a full load displacement of 5,100 tons, equipped with 1 76 mm automatic naval gun, 2 sets of 16-unit MK48 vertical launch systems, 2 quadruple Type 90 anti-ship missiles, 2 phalanx 6-barrel 20mm close-in defense guns and 1 anti-submarine helicopter, and its comprehensive combat capability is basically equivalent to that of the 054A frigate.
The reason why the United States, Japan, and Australia did not dispatch more advanced combat ships was not only because they did not want to steal the limelight from the Philippine Navy, but also because they wanted to reduce the sensitivity of the four countries' South China Sea exercise. Just imagine, if the United States, Japan, and Australia all dispatched "Aegis" warships with a large tonnage, the situation in the South China Sea would be even more tense, and the PLA would inevitably react violently. From this, we can also perceive that although the United States, Japan, and Australia are in the name of supporting the Philippines, they actually want the Philippines to take the lead in the South China Sea.
Unexpectedly, the four-nation South China Sea exercise lasted only half a day and ended in a hurry, and the biggest achievement of this military exercise was that many shots of ships lined up. Although the Philippine side did not explain the reason for the rapid end of the military exercise, we can see the clues from the relevant media reports.
According to a report by the Philippine "Daily Inquirer," the warships of the four countries did not encounter any obstruction during the South China Sea exercise, and the entire exercise went very smoothly, but six nautical miles outside the exercise area demarcated by the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines, the PLA missile destroyer "Nanning" (board number 162) and the "Neptune" electronic reconnaissance ship (board number 792) appeared. Therefore, we can be sure that the PLA has followed and monitored the entire process of the South China Sea exercise, which may be the main reason for the hasty end of the South China Sea military of the four countries.
"Nanning" is an improved 052D destroyer, with a full load displacement of 7,500 tons, equipped with a four-sided Type 346A active phased array radar and 64 large general-purpose vertical launch units, with excellent situational awareness and offensive and defensive capabilities. It should be pointed out that the "Nanning" destroyer's vertical launch system can be compatible with Haihongqi-9B ship-to-air missiles, YJ-18 anti-ship missiles, and anti-submarine missiles, of which the defense zone combat radius can reach 300 km, and the anti-submarine combat radius is 600 km, which can comprehensively suppress the five warships made up by the four countries.
However, for the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines, what they are really afraid of is not the "Nanning" missile destroyer, after all, this is a time of peace, and if they do not take the initiative to provoke, then the PLA will not take action. However, compared with the "Nanning" ship, the "Neptune" electronic reconnaissance ship that appeared this time can make the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines feel like pins and needles.
"Neptune" belongs to the 815A type of electronic reconnaissance ship, with a total length of about 130 meters, a width of about 17 meters, and a full load displacement of about 6,600 tons. Specifically, the "Neptune" can rely on its own advanced equipment to receive and automatically record the electromagnetic wave signals of the radio communications, radar, weapon control systems, and other electronic equipment of the warships of the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines when it is working, and can also find out the technical parameters and tactical performance of the relevant electronic equipment, which can provide important data support for the PLA's targeted development of electronic reconnaissance and electronic countermeasure equipment.
In addition, the "Neptune" can also ascertain the location and coordination of the radio stations, radar stations, and sonar stations of the warships of the four countries, determine the command relationship among them, listen to the wireless telephone of the other side, detect wireless telegraph information, and analyze the code pattern to obtain relevant military intelligence.
It can be seen that once the ships of the four countries turn on their radars and conduct radio communications, the "Neptune" electronic reconnaissance ship will be able to detect all electromagnetic signals, which means that the five ships are as "transparent" in front of the "Neptune" and have no secrets to speak of. In order to prevent more military secrets from being obtained by the "Neptune," the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines will decide to quickly end the exercise.
With this experience, presumably the United States, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and other countries will not dare to conduct military exercises in the South China Sea with great fanfare.