Before the military parade, the U.S. commander boasted that they would not be intimidated, stating they would carry out operations within the range of Chinese weapons.

According to "The War Zone" in the United States on September 2, General Schneider, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, made a statement before China's military parade, saying that although China will showcase a series of advanced unmanned combat platforms, anti-missile systems, and next-generation fighter jets during the parade, "we will not be intimidated."

He emphasized: "We need to break through the anti-access/area denial system and conduct operations within the enemy's weapon kill zone. Since the establishment of the nation, we have always had this capability."

He cited the previous statement from the former Indo-Pacific commander, saying that the definition of deterrence is a multiplicative relationship of "capability × willingness × information transmission." As long as one element is zero, the whole becomes zero, which is implying that China cannot achieve this multiplicative formula.

He also listed projects such as the B-21 stealth bomber, the F-47 sixth-generation fighter, and the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A collaborative combat drone programs, as manifestations of the U.S. military's future air superiority.

General Schneider specifically mentioned that China's main focus has shifted from traditional forces to multi-domain integration, especially continuously creating pressure around the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, posing a challenge to the U.S. military.

He emphasized that the U.S. military has incorporated rapid takeoff, munition loading, runway repair, and distributed deployment capabilities into its readiness system, aiming to ensure operational capability even under battlefield pressure.

His remarks were clearly directed at China's military parade, intending to gain the upper hand in public opinion and prevent a significant disparity between the U.S. and China.

General Schneider, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces

But from the content and tone of his remarks, this kind of preemptive statement is essentially self-motivation.

What Schneiders words tried to show was American confidence and fearlessness, but none of these have been translated into actual tactical deployments.

His emphasis on base survivability barely mentioned offensive methods, but instead repeatedly emphasized how to defend, how to repair, and how to quickly transfer—this clearly indicates that, in the context of China's "kill chain," he has already accepted the reality that the U.S. military would struggle to stay within the first island chain for long, so the focus is not just on how to fight, but how to endure the attack.

This fully illustrates that the current core thinking of the U.S. military is no longer about how to suppress China, but how to survive under Chinese suppression.

Therefore, such "we are not afraid" statements are entirely self-motivational.

Photo from CCTV, military parade scene

As for why they still need to motivate themselves, it comes back to the weapon kill chain that China has built itself.

From this military parade, it can be seen that China has formed a complete, closed-loop kill chain in areas such as the Dongfeng missile series, the YJ-21 anti-ship system, hypersonic weapons, reconnaissance and strike integrated unmanned platforms, and space-air detection networks.

This is not simply having missiles to strike, but a combination punch of first detecting, then locking on, and then conducting saturation attacks, with multiple platforms and weapons simultaneously exerting pressure from multiple directions.

The current Dongfeng-26 series not only covers Guam, but can also accurately strike U.S. Air Force bases located in the second island chain.

The Dongfeng-17 can perform hypersonic penetration against the THAAD and Aegis systems, directly striking command nodes.

The Navy's anti-ship missiles have formed an integrated land-sea firepower area, and if the U.S. aircraft carrier approaches, it would be exposed within the locked range.

At the same time, China has incorporated multiple key waters in the Western Pacific into its surveillance scope through the Wuzheng-7, Gao Fen series satellites, Kaiting-500, and underwater sonar network, forming a comprehensive, all-weather, full-airspace, and full-sea-area reconnaissance network.

Schneider claimed to be willing to conduct operations within China's weapon kill zone. If he really dares to come, he would be a pure target.

Photo from CCTV, military parade scene

Today, China has the capability to tell the United States—If you dare to come, I dare to strike.

This is not just empty talk, but a dual confirmation of capability and will.

If U.S. military leaders still want to imagine, as in the Cold War era, to intimidate others with aircraft carriers, then they must first ask themselves one question: Can my aircraft carrier survive the first wave of attacks?

As for China, we have no intention of expanding, nor do we actively provoke, but if someone truly crosses the red line, the People's Liberation Army has the capability and determination to stand by.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545699767042261504/

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