The USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier (CVN 71, front left) fleet and the USS Maxine Island amphibious assault ship (LHD 8, front right) fleet rehearse in the South China Sea, April 9. (U.S. Navy)
Since the Biden administration took office, Chinese communist military aircraft have disturbed Taiwan on an unprecedented scale, with aircraft carrier formations entering and leaving the U.S.-controlled first island chain, blockading Taiwan, and conducting exercises to counter U.S. military assistance to Taiwan. This series of actions is aimed at testing the Biden administration’s response and seeking a window of opportunity to encroach on Taiwan.
At the same time, the U.S. military is also accelerating its global military deployment, withdrawing troops from the Middle East, deploying to the Indo-Pacific region, deploying offensive missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, rebuilding the First Fleet in the Western Pacific, launching the “Pacific Deterrence Program” and formulating specific military action plans for the South China Sea, etc. The possibility of a U.S.-China military confrontation is growing.
U.S. military accelerates withdrawal in the Middle East
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Biden has ordered the Pentagon to begin withdrawing some of its military forces from the Gulf region and adjusting the U.S. global military deployment away from the Middle East, among other initial moves.
The report said the U.S. has withdrawn at least three Patriot anti-missile batteries from the Gulf, including one at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. An aircraft carrier and some of its military capabilities, including surveillance systems, are also being transferred from the Middle East to respond to military needs in other parts of the world, and other reductions are being considered.
The report said, “Some equipment, including unmanned surveillance aircraft and anti-missile batteries, may be redeployed to focus on leading global competitors, including the Chinese Communist Party and Russia.”
The USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier (CVN 71) is pictured leaving its home port in San Diego on Jan. 17, 2020.
Asia-Pacific Deployment of Offensive Missiles to Deter Communist China
For the past several decades, the Middle East has been a top priority for U.S. overseas strategy. But after fighting two Gulf wars, the U.S. looks back and sees that not only did it lose troops and gain nothing, but it allowed Iran to grow in power and get into an even bigger mess. In the two decades that the United States has been embroiled in the war on terror in the Middle East, it has been the golden age of the Chinese Communist Party, which has quietly become the United States’ greatest adversary.
After President Trump took office, he realized that the Chinese Communist Party is the biggest threat and reversed the U.S. strategic direction, shifting the focus from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific, promoting the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” and strengthening alliances to surround the Chinese Communist Party; at the same time, he withdrew from the INF Treaty, making The withdrawal from the INF Treaty has made it possible for the U.S. military to deploy missiles in the Western Pacific.
Last June, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. was preparing to deploy hundreds of conventional missiles in Asia, a move that could quickly and easily balance the balance of power in the Western Pacific, as the Pentagon became increasingly concerned about the Chinese Communist Party’s expanding missile arsenal and military capabilities that threaten the security of U.S. military bases and allies in Asia.
A Volunteer (Minuteman III) III intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Oct. 29, 2020. (U.S. Air Force)
The article says, “The missile program is the centerpiece of a U.S. military force-building program in Asia that is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars in defense budgets over the next decade, a major shift in the Pentagon’s budgetary focus, from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific.”
The Los Angeles Times also mentioned that when the Trump administration first floated the idea in 2019, Australia and the Philippines publicly ruled out deploying missiles in their own countries, and South Korea was considered an unlikely site.
But U.S. officials say many allies privately support the missile deployment plan and will soon allow the missiles to be deployed on their own territory, but do not want to provoke opposition from Beijing and their own populations until the decision is in place.
In 2019, the Pentagon has been testing several new short-range and medium-range missiles with ranges up to 3,400 miles, including a ballistic missile that could be placed on the U.S. territory of Guam, and mobile missiles carried on trucks, among others.
The first of the new weapons could be operational within two years, though no announcement has been made as to where they will be deployed. Currently, U.S. warships and aircraft in Asia carry similar missiles, but no land-based missile systems.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 9, Philip S. Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said the greatest threat of the 21st century comes from the Chinese Communist Party. The most pressing U.S. defense need is to deploy long-range missiles in Asia that can threaten the Chinese Communist Party. The United States needs to supplement its offensive missiles with ranges greater than 310 miles in order to complete its existing missile defense system.
Davidson explained the role of offensive missiles in baseball terms, “If I can’t score runs, then I can’t win the game. We have to have an offensive capability, which will make possible adversaries, think twice about any nefarious activity they conduct in the region, and that’s what offensive missiles do.”
Rebuilding the First Fleet in the Western Pacific
Currently, the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan, is the only fleet based in the Asia-Pacific region and governs the waters of the Indo-Pacific, but the Seventh Fleet’s deterrent capability has diminished as the Chinese Communist Party continues to expand its military capabilities in the South China Sea.
In response to the Chinese Communist Party’s military threat, the U.S. Navy is also discussing the possibility of reallocating military forces and adjusting military deployments around the world.
USNI reported that last October, then-Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite addressed the Naval Submarine League’s annual conference, saying, “During my recent trip to the Far East, I found that Every one of our allies and partners is concerned about the aggression of the Chinese (Communist Chinese). Not since the War of 1812 has the United States, and our sovereignty, been under the kind of pressure that we see today, and that is something that I would argue with anyone.”
The U.S. destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113, left) and the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt (CVN 71, right) cruise in the western Pacific Ocean on Jan. 12, as the U.S.-China confrontation posture continues in 2021. (U.S. Navy)
He has indicated a new fleet to be placed at the crossroads between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, possibly in Singapore, or a mobile, ocean-going patrol. But most importantly, it could provide a more robust deterrent.
Last November, Braithwaite made it official at a Senate hearing that the U.S. Navy’s First Fleet would be rebuilt and deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. The First Fleet, which was originally responsible for the Western Pacific, was established in 1943 but decommissioned in 1973.
Braithwaite’s idea has the support of many U.S. military generals. Military.com reported on March 15 that Philip Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told a House hearing that John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was studying the pros and cons of redeployment. U.S. First Fleet “pros and cons.
He said Navy leadership has asked Aquilino to “consider a number of options for possible First Fleet operations” and that “possible concepts (for the First Fleet), the impact of …… on the relationship with the Seventh Fleet and our military forces there are still being planned. relations, etc., are still being planned.
Secretary of Naval Operations Michael Gilday also said on April 5 that we are taking a close look at the Indo-Pacific region and the deployment of forces there, and are considering a new First Fleet to govern the Indian and Pacific Oceans in order to reduce the burden on the Seventh Fleet.
The focus shifts “Pacific deterrence plan” on the road
On Dec. 11 last year, the U.S. Senate passed the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 84-13, with the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) being particularly notable. “The Pacific Deterrence Initiative, similar to the European Deterrence Initiative, aims to maintain U.S. military superiority over the Chinese Communist Party.
The Voice of America reports that Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute believes that the deterrence initiative may be the most important piece of legislation on Asia in recent years, signaling the beginning of a shift in U.S. strategic focus.
According to Timothy Heath of the RAND Corporation, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative is important because it marks a shift in the way the United States deploys and prepares for war against China (the Chinese Communist Party).
Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), then chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member, wrote that the purpose of the Pacific Deterrent Program is to leave Beijing with the conclusion that you cannot win militarily, so don’t even try. So don’t even try.
Senior Republican Congressman James Inhofe (R-OK).
The U.S. Naval Institute News (USNI) reported March 2 that the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is seeking $4.68 billion in the upcoming fiscal year to support the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. Indo-Pacific Command hopes to receive $22.69 billion from fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2027 to achieve its goals.
For the Pacific Deterrent Program, Indo-Pacific Command Commander Davidson explained to Congress that the U.S. needs to establish a precision strike combat network capable of withstanding enemy attack scattered throughout the first island chain in the Western Pacific; deploy a ground-based SHIELD missile defense system in Guam; deploy a tactical multifunctional radar in the Pacific island nation of Palau; and establish Multiple combat area training bases have been established throughout the region so that U.S. and allied forces can train together and fight together.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s South China Sea Military Operations Plan
The U.S. military is clearly strengthening its presence and operational capabilities in the Western Pacific and preparing for a conflict with the Chinese Communist Party in the coming decades.
Writing in The Nikkei on March 7, former U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis revealed the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s action plans for the South China Sea. He said the plans have been sent back to the Pentagon pending a full review by the new Defense Secretary Austin.
One of the plans is for the U.S. Marines to play a guerrilla warfare role in the South China Sea, where the Communist Party’s militarized artificial reefs would be a tempting target. The Marines would penetrate deep into the interior of the South China Sea and use armed drones, offensive networks, missiles, and even ship-to-ship strike weapons to attack CCP maritime forces, including land bases of operations.
U.S. General: If the U.S. and China go to war in the Indo-Pacific, there will be naval and land battles. The picture shows the U.S. Army forces.
In addition to this, the U.S. Navy will be more active in patrolling China’s offshore waters and gradually include allies in the free patrol teams to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s self-proclaimed sovereignty in the South China Sea.
In particular, the Pentagon wants the UK, France and other NATO allies to join the South China Sea patrols. Indeed, at a recent meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, the role NATO can play in the face of the rising military capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party was discussed.
The United States also hopes to convince Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam, to all participate in patrolling the South China Sea. The U.S. goal is to create a global maritime alliance to jointly deal with the Chinese Communist fleet.
In addition to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force is likely to deploy more land-attack long-range bombers and fighters extensively in the Asia-Pacific region, including on some very remote islands.
The U.S. military will also deploy forces close to mainland China, including enhancing the capabilities of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea and Japan, and the Army and Air Force will conduct additional training and exercises with Taiwan. A newly formed U.S. Space Force is also expected to concentrate intelligence and reconnaissance in the theater.
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