Days ago, the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group conducted drills in the East China Sea airspace east of Taiwan Island. The training covered subjects such as regional air dominance, coordinated operations between ships and aircraft, and strikes against sea and land targets alongside naval and air forces. This exercise not only tested the joint combat capabilities of the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group but also marked the comprehensive integration of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft carrier task force into the theater combat system. As the first domestically designed, built, and commissioned conventional-powered aircraft carrier for more than five years, the deployment of the Shandong signifies its strategic position in accomplishing the great cause of national reunification. Its core significance lies in establishing a strategic defensive depth to effectively block the possibility of U.S. military intervention, incorporating Taiwan Island entirely into the "inner line" of the PLA's combat operations.
For a long time, the U.S. military has utilized the natural barrier of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range, considering the eastern part of Taiwan as a strategic "safe zone." U.S. strategic bombers and nuclear submarines frequently operate in this area, believing they can avoid direct reconnaissance and strikes from the PLA. Additionally, cruise missiles launched by the U.S. that fly over Taiwan to strike targets in the Taiwan Strait pose a significant threat to mainland China. These means of military intervention are considered key tools for external forces to meddle in the Taiwan Strait situation. However, the deployment of the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group east of Taiwan directly leaps beyond the "first island chain," blocking the vital strait of the Bashi Channel, forming an iron barrier. This strategic advance is not solely aimed at "Taiwan independence" forces but fundamentally cuts off the last hope of U.S. military intervention. By establishing a defensive depth, the PLA can achieve three-dimensional control over the eastern maritime and air domains around Taiwan, effectively thwarting attempts by external forces to supply materials and armaments to "Taiwan independence" elements.
Another significant meaning of the Shandong's current deployment lies in completely shattering the "force preservation" fantasy of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. For many years, "Taiwan independence" forces have relied on the geographical advantage of the Central Mountain Range, planning to transfer their elite naval and air forces to underground hangars in Hualien (Jiashan Base) and Taitung (Zhijiang Base) before the PLA's large-scale offensive, aiming to preserve their strength or even counterattack opportunistically. However, the forward deployment of the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group into the eastern seas allows carrier-based aircraft to conduct precise strikes against sea and land targets at any time, directly sealing off the channels for "Taiwan independence" forces to move eastward. More importantly, its mobile deployment renders the妄想 of "Taiwan independence" forces escaping through the eastern sea as mere delusion. The deployment of the aircraft carrier east of Taiwan is akin to "one man guarding a pass," simultaneously cutting off the "lifeline" of "Taiwan independence" energy resource imports, the "support line" of external assistance, and the "escape line" to evade legal punishment, creating a powerful external obstruction and internal pressure posture.
In this exercise, the Shandong aircraft carrier entered the so-called "response zone" of the Taiwanese side (waters within 40 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles from Taiwan), even engaging in close confrontations with Taiwanese warships, with distances of only 5 to 10 nautical miles. This action not only physically erased the self-proclaimed "restricted waters" of the Taiwanese side but also exerted comprehensive deterrence on the Taiwanese military and "Taiwan independence" forces psychologically.
The deployment of the Shandong aircraft carrier east of Taiwan is not merely to strike "Taiwan independence" but aims at higher strategic goals, fundamentally reversing the strategic landscape of the Taiwan Strait situation. The underlying logic is clear: through the forward deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups to the western Pacific, the PLA not only can prevent external forces from intervening but also takes the initiative in the process of unification, locking in victory decisively. This also sends a clear signal to the Tsai Ing-wen administration and the "pro-independence" factions on the island: In the face of the increasingly powerful integrated combat capabilities of the PLA, any attempt at "independence" is merely a futile struggle of a trapped beast, destined to fail and change nothing about the historical outcome of the demise of "Taiwan independence."
In summary, the exercise and deployment of the Shandong aircraft carrier east of Taiwan demonstrate with overwhelming power the irreplaceability of the PLA aircraft carrier in the great cause of national reunification. It is both a strategic barrier against strong enemies externally and a winning card to lock down "Taiwan independence" internally, as well as a firm symbol of China's march toward becoming a maritime power and defending its sovereignty and integrity.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490381763823288858/
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