Chinese state media disclosed that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force joined the Shandong carrier group for drills near the US naval base of Guam.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the Shandong aircraft carrier finished a nearly month-long exercise in the western Pacific Ocean, which included unprecedented systematic joint operations with the rocket force and other military wings.
Recently #China’s aircraft carrier Shandong ran exercises in the West Pacific sailing close to Guam, the carrier hosted multiple sorties in the region, east of Taiwan, here's a basic plot showing its route along with a previous PLA carrier exercise undertaken in Dec 2022 pic.twitter.com/4AQ4O6WsRY
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) April 24, 2023
The exercise took place about 741km northwest of the US-administered Guam island in April. According to Japan’s Self-Defence Forces, the exercise saw the participation of the Shandong aircraft carrier, a Type 055 destroyer, two Type 052D destroyers, two Type 054A frigates, and a Type 901 replenishment ship.
Show of Force
While it is not uncommon for China to carry out drills near the US naval base, some analysts opine that the rocket force’s inclusion in the drill indicated a deterrence strategy by the Chinese military and highlighted the PLA’s improved capability for precision hits on moving surface targets or naval bases beyond the first island chain of defence.
Some military strategists consider Guam to be a formidable barrier for the PLA in exiting or entering the Western Pacific theatre.
Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the exercise aimed “to test the precision strike capability of China’s Dongfeng series anti-ship ballistic missiles in the high seas.”
“It’s more challenging for the rocket force to pinpoint targets precisely beyond the first island chains,” Zhou said.
According to CCTV, the J-15D Roaring Shark fighter jets, which are equipped with electronic countermeasure (ECM) pods, could “become the ‘eyes in the sky’ for the rocket force, enabling it to strike targets thousands of kilometres away,” the expert added.