The Financial Times quoted sources as saying on Jan. 29 that according to intelligence from the U.S. and its allies, Chinese military aircraft conducted exercises in Taiwan‘s air defense airspace on Jan. 23 to simulate strikes against the USS Roosevelt carrier group in the South China Sea. In response, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Mike Kafka (Mike Kafka) said, “‘Roosevelt’ carrier strike group closely monitor all activities of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and Air Force, they have never posed a threat to U.S. Navy warships, aircraft or sailors. “
The Financial Times reported this Friday, citing intelligence sources familiar with the United States and its allies, that Chinese bombers and fighter jets simulated an attack on the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group. The newspaper said Chinese bomber pilots also confirmed orders for strikes on the sea and simulated the launch of anti-ship missiles. In response, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Kafka responded in an e-mailed statement that “the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group closely monitors all activities of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and Air Force, and they have never posed a threat to U.S. Navy ships, aircraft or sailors. “
Kafka emphasized through a statement that “the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, demonstrating our resolve through our actions in the region.” Earlier, the U.S. Navy responded on the 24th that the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group is routinely deploying in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to conduct maritime security operations. Analysts believe that the Biden administration’s decision to send the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group to the South China Sea is not unrelated to the increased pressure on Taiwan by PLA military aircraft over the past few days.
The PLA activities highlighted here, however, are the latest in a string of aggressive and destabilizing actions,” Kafka said. “These actions reflect the PLA’s continued attempts to use its military power as a tool to intimidate or coerce parties operating in international waters and airspace, including its neighbors and countries with competing territorial claims,” he said. A U.S. defense official told The Japan Times that the Chinese military aircraft did not come within 250 miles (402.3 kilometers) of the U.S. Navy ship, which is beyond the range of the Eagle-12 anti-ship missiles carried by the Boom-6K bombers. The official said a simulated attack took place at the Time.
Last August, the People’s Liberation Army conducted a series of ballistic missile test launches into the South China Sea, including the use of a weapon dubbed the “carrier killer,” in what was apparently part of a comprehensive military exercise to simulate strikes on U.S. warships. Media later reported that at least two of the missiles hit mobile ship targets in the area. Neither the U.S. nor Chinese military confirmed these reports, but the anti-ship missiles are known to be the most potent anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) weapons in the PLA’s arsenal.
Despite overlapping claims to the South China Sea by parties in the region, including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei, Beijing still claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade runs annually. Beijing has built and militarized artificial islands in the South China Sea despite protests from other claimants and the United States.
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