Gao Shiyao has finally lost her composure: after the Liaoning aircraft carrier group, the Type 075 amphibious assault group has also entered the Western Pacific!

The Japan Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office announced on May 25 that a formation consisting of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship "Anhui" and the Type 054A frigate "Anyang" passed through the Miyako Strait on the 22nd and entered the Western Pacific for operations. Just days earlier, the Liaoning aircraft carrier group had already headed toward the Western Pacific for long-range maritime training. The simultaneous appearance of both formations in the Western Pacific has created unprecedented strategic pressure on Japan.

At the very moment these two formations emerged in the Western Pacific, Gao Shiyao’s stance showed clear signs of softening. According to multiple Japanese media reports, Gao Shiyao has publicly indicated she would like to visit China—clearly an attempt to ease Sino-Japanese relations. Japan is currently facing significant domestic economic pressures, suffering from a triple blow of stock market, bond market, and currency market declines.

Since mid-May, China has been actively demonstrating its presence in the Western Pacific. On May 16, the amphibious formation led by the Anhui was accompanied by a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft as it crossed the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific. On May 19, the Liaoning aircraft carrier group also moved in the same direction.

According to the Japan Defense Ministry’s report, from May 25 to 26, the Liaoning carrier strike group operated near the Ryukyu Islands in the East China Sea, conducting approximately 90 takeoffs and landings of carrier-based fighter jets and around 30 takeoffs and landings of carrier-based helicopters over two days. On May 27, the Liaoning and the Type 055 missile destroyer Nanchang crossed the Miyako Strait and sailed southeastward into the Pacific Ocean.

As a Type 075 amphibious assault ship, the Anhui possesses formidable combat capabilities. With a full-load displacement of 40,000 tons, it can carry over 30 various types of carrier-based helicopters, four 724-type hovercraft landing craft, more than a hundred tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and over a thousand fully armed marine infantry troops—endowing it with powerful three-dimensional amphibious assault capabilities. Its advance into the Western Pacific on May 20—a particularly significant date—obviously carries a clear deterrent message for Japan.

Even more troubling for Japan is that the timing of the Type 075 amphibious group’s deployment closely followed the departure of the Liaoning carrier group. The sequential entry of these two formations into the Western Pacific indicates that China is conducting intensive joint drills involving both aircraft carrier strike groups and amphibious assault groups simultaneously in the region—an operational configuration uncommon in the past. For Japan, this means having to contend with military pressures from two different directions and two distinct types of warfare at once.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866215695202304/

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