[Military and Defense Section] Author: Tianlang

In recent days, the atmosphere in the surrounding waters of the Philippines has visibly tensed. According to foreign media reports, during the "Shoulder to Shoulder-2025" joint exercise held by the navies of the U.S., the Philippines, and Japan from April 26 to 27 in the waters north of Luzon Island, the Chinese navy also made an appearance — the Type 054A frigate "Handan" and the Type 815A electronic reconnaissance ship "Tian Shu Xing" appeared on either side, directly entering the exercise area, maintaining close-range surveillance at a distance of 8 to 15 nautical miles.

▲U.S., Philippine, and Japanese formations practicing while being closely monitored by Chinese warships

From the exposed photos, it can be seen that the Chinese warships are almost "zero-distance observing" on the sea surface, with a calm posture and stable formation, leaving a deep impression. Some netizens joked that Tian Shu Xing is truly a "street wanderer" at sea, this time even bringing a frigate to join in the observation!

However, this observation is far from just "watching the show." More strategically significant is that at almost the same time, the aircraft carrier battle groups of both China and the United States also arrived almost simultaneously in the Philippine Sea area — the Chinese Navy's Shandong-class aircraft carrier task force completed an unprecedented breakthrough through the Babuyan Islands, while the U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier strike group gathered to the east of Samar Island. The Philippine Sea, this region which once witnessed the bloodshed of World War II, has now become a new frontier for great power博弈.

▲Philippine media reports that both U.S. and Chinese aircraft carriers are deployed to the Philippine Sea

On April 22, one day after the start of the U.S.-Philippine military exercises, the Philippine military suddenly discovered a nine-ship formation centered around the Shandong-class aircraft carrier, consisting of six destroyers and two support vessels, quietly crossing the waterways between the Babuyan Islands. At its closest point, it was only about 3 nautical miles away from Philippine islands! This route of passage differs from the usual routes used by most Chinese warships, such as the Bashi Channel or the Balintang Channel, clearly carrying a "face-to-face deterrence" connotation.

The move by the Shandong-class aircraft carrier is essentially a clear signal sent to the U.S.-Philippine joint exercises: if you conduct military exercises near our doorstep, we have the right to express our concerns in our own way. Especially against the backdrop of the U.S. and the Philippines openly deploying land-based anti-ship missile (NMESIS) systems in the Batanes Islands, with a direct focus on the Taiwan Strait situation, the high-profile actions of the Shandong-class aircraft carrier are undoubtedly a strong response.

Moreover, the escort fleet accompanying the Shandong-class aircraft carrier this time is also extremely formidable — it includes at least one Type 055 ten-thousand-ton destroyer, Yan'an, possibly another Type 055 and two Type 052D, plus two Type 054A frigates, fully equipped with air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and long-range strike capabilities, standard battle group configuration, capable of confronting U.S. aircraft carrier groups head-on in near-sea operations.

▲Movement routes of U.S. and Chinese aircraft carrier battle groups

In response to the rapid actions of the Shandong-class aircraft carrier task force, the U.S. Navy also reacted swiftly. The Third Fleet Command of the U.S. Navy confirmed that the "Nimitz" aircraft carrier strike group had arrived in the Philippine waters before the end of April, ready to respond to any emergencies. Foreign media speculated based on the flight tracks of C-2A "Greyhound" transport aircraft that the "Nimitz" is currently located in the waters east of Samar Island in central Philippines.

It should be noted that although the two aircraft carrier battle groups of China and the U.S. are hundreds of kilometers apart on the surface, when calculated based on the combat radius of their carrier-borne aircraft (both approximately 700 kilometers), they have actually entered each other's attack range, creating a subtle yet dangerous beyond-the-horizon standoff.

If a comparison must be made, the two aircraft carrier fleets of China and the U.S. each have their own advantages. The U.S. has certain advantages in terms of the number of carrier-borne aircraft, takeoff and landing speed, and long-term continuous combat capability, but the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet has obvious advantages in the number of escort vessels, air defense and anti-missile capabilities, and anti-ship missile delivery capacity. In particular, the presence of the Type 055 destroyer behind the Shandong-class aircraft carrier greatly enhances the entire task force's capabilities in air defense, anti-surface, and ground strikes. That is to say, even in a direct confrontation between aircraft carriers, the Chinese Navy is no longer at a clear disadvantage.

▲Chinese naval vessels appearing in waters about 30 nautical miles away from U.S. and Philippine forces

Not only did the Shandong-class aircraft carrier task force exert enormous pressure, but according to GMA reports, when the U.S.-Philippine joint forces were conducting NMESIS anti-ship missile system transfer drills, four Type 052D and Type 054A frigates of the Chinese Navy suddenly appeared nearby, about 30 nautical miles away, and even "forcibly entered" the visual range. Although the U.S.-Philippine side urgently mobilized Global Hawk drones and patrol ships to intercept them, facing the electronic suppression and air defense superiority of the main Chinese naval vessels, the U.S.-Philippine forces appeared powerless and could only "fail in observation."

Analysts pointed out that the Type 052D destroyers and Type 054A frigates dispatched by China this time are equipped with powerful shipborne phased array radars and various short-, medium-, and long-range air defense systems. They can fully simulate real combat conditions, using the "A shoots B guides" (i.e., one ship launches and another guides) mode to practice intercepting shore-based missiles like NMESIS, and even destroy enemy shore bases with Yingji-18B or Yingji-21 missiles in wartime. From a certain perspective, the high-profile appearance of the Chinese Navy this time is not just surveillance, but also an "unannounced" realistic training session!

▲NMESIS shore-based missiles deployed in the Philippines

Since the rise of the Marcos administration, the Philippines' military cooperation with the U.S. has deepened rapidly, from increasing the number of "Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement" (EDCA) bases to actively cooperating with the U.S. in intervention in the Taiwan Strait issue, almost pushing the Philippines to the forefront of great power博弈. Marcos' actions, to some extent, exchange the security of more than 100 million Filipinos for his family's political interests.

As the standoff between the aircraft carrier battle groups of China and the U.S. in the Philippine Sea intensifies, the Philippines will increasingly become a "hot potato" of geopolitical strategy. The close-range pressure exerted by the Shandong-class aircraft carrier task force and the Type 054A/815A actually constitutes a form of "military diplomacy," reminding Philippine society through practical actions that they are being drawn into a conflict that could have been avoided. For the Marcos government, it may already be too late to regret, but for the Filipino people, they may have just begun to realize that they are being pushed toward an increasingly dangerous edge.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498306746302218789/

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