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Of the course of deterrence
Yesterday, October 16, the US Navy announced the country’s carrier strike group Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea. Before reaching the South China Sea, this carrier strike group in September had many operations in the Philippine Sea and later coordinated activities in the Indian Ocean. Recently, from the Indian Ocean, the group of warships crossed the Straits of Malacca to enter the South China Sea.
F / A-18E Super Hornet multipurpose fighter aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea on October 15, 2020 |
The announcement by the US Navy came just days after the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces reported that the helicopter carrier JS Kaga escorted by the destroyer JS Ikazuchi had just conducted exercises with the destroyer USS John. McCain and the US tanker USNS Tippecanoe are also in the South China Sea.
Prior to that, two warships JS Kaga and JS Ikazuchi left Japan, passed through the South China Sea and practiced exercises with the Australian navy there from September 13 to 17, and then joint exercises with the Indian and Sri Lankan navies. Lanka in India. The ocean. After that, two battleships JS Kaga and JS Ikazuchi returned, combined with Shoryu (Japan) submarines to exercise anti-submarine warfare in the South China Sea, and then continued exercises with American ships there as well.
Therefore, the two cruise lines of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and the JS Kaga Group are quite similar, also from the western Pacific region through the Indian Ocean and back to the South China Sea.
Answer Youth, Dr. Satoru Nagao (Hudson Research Institute, USA) commented that the above trip “not only represents the message of Japan, but also the general message of the” quartet of diamonds “which includes the USA, Japan , Australia and India. India on comprehensive cooperation in the Indo-Pacific (Indo-Pacific) ”.
“In early October, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned building a NATO alliance in Asia to institutionalize the” diamond quartet. “This time, JS Kaga’s trip partly shows the shadow of such alliance, although “Asian NATO” may not be exactly the same as the current NATO in the Atlantic, “added Dr. Nagao.
Powerful carrier force
In fact, the “diamond quartet” of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India have a fairly strong carrier network in the Indo-Pacific. And past developments show that this quartet is ready to send aircraft carriers to operate in the South China Sea to deter China.
Washington operates 10 Nimitz-class and 1 Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers, not to mention the second Gerald Ford-class that is about to enter service. For a long time, the United States has regularly maintained 1 or 2 aircraft carriers operating in the Pacific Ocean and a few others in the Indian Ocean region. At one point, the United States sent three aircraft carriers to operate in the Pacific.
Also, answer Youth, Dr. James Holmes (US Naval War College) once observed: “There are other signs surrounding the strengthening of carrier-style warfare in regional waters. Specifically, the United States is intensifying the operation of assault landing ships equipped with fifth-generation F-35B stealth fighters. ”
To date, Washington has deployed the F-35B to operate with the American and Wasp-class amphibious assault ships to virtually upgrade the naval force to more than 20 ships that can act as aircraft carriers. During the last time, the American class ship USS America has operated continuously in the Western Pacific in general and in the East Sea in particular. USS America also has many activities to deter Chinese warships in the South China Sea.
The aircraft carrier JS Kaga (far right) exercises with warships in the South China Sea on October 12, 2020 |
Not only the US, Japan is also improving its fleet to deploy aircraft carriers. JS Kaga and JS Izumo of the Izumo-class, originally just a helicopter-carrying destroyer, but since 2018, Tokyo has been promoting the plan to turn the Izumo-class battleship into a true aircraft carrier. maneuver with the F-35B fighter plane. To date, the JS Kaga has almost officially become an aircraft carrier.
In the South Pacific, Australia also possesses similar power with two Canberra-class warships, HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. This class of ships is about 230 meters in length, with a full load displacement of approximately 27,000 tons, so it can transport and deploy combat with the F-35B. Australia is also a US partner in the F-35 program and is in the process of receiving this next-generation fighter.
Under the “quartet of diamonds”, India operates two aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant, with a displacement of about two of the Chinese Liaoning and Shandong. However, using the Mig-29 fighter with a total takeoff weight of only about 18 tons, the Indian carrier is capable of doing quite well. In addition, New Delhi plans to build a third aircraft carrier.
Thus, in the battle position of the aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, the forces of “Asian NATO” are predominantly superior to those of China.
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