After the low-profile return of the CCP Liaoning aircraft carrier to port, the Shandong aircraft carrier has left port again, continuing the joke story of CCP carriers. The U.S. military should have further confirmed the true combat capability of the CCP carriers, with only destroyers and surveillance ships for follow-on monitoring, as the Roosevelt carrier has left the Western Pacific and arrived in the Gulf of Alaska for Exercise Northern Edge 2021 (NEF 2021).
U.S. satellites and reconnaissance planes should have also confirmed that there is no sign of a recent CCP buildup and that there is no risk of war for the time being. The amphibious fleet of the USS Maxine Island has also left the Western Pacific and is also headed to participate in Exercise Northern Edge 2021. The U.S. military not only has a good understanding of the strengths and movements of the Chinese military, but is also using the North Front exercise to teach the Chinese military a lesson about the true capabilities of the carrier fleet, as well as to demonstrate the joint combat training of the three services. Although the exercise is far away from Alaska, it is actually a further deterrent to the Chinese Communist Party.
U.S. Aircraft Carriers Demonstrate Ocean Maneuvering Capabilities
The U.S. Army announced that the 2021 North Front exercise, which involved approximately 15,000 troops, six warships and 240 aircraft, ran from May 3 to May 14 and was a joint training exercise around Alaska. The exercise, led by Indo-Pacific Command, is described as high-end, realistic combat training to improve joint warfare capabilities and enhance force readiness, and is said to be critical to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
First designed to address military risks in the Arctic region, the North Front exercise has now become a response to tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, with the actual adversary to be deterred being the Chinese Communist military.
In April, the Chinese Communist Party’s Liaoning aircraft carrier was deployed, and the USS Roosevelt, after completing exercises with allies in the Indian Ocean, quickly returned to the South China Sea for a rendezvous with the amphibious fleet of the USS Makassim Island, and then proceeded to Guam for another day before returning to the South China Sea. As the Liaoning left the South China Sea, the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt had already left for Alaska. The U.S. military demonstrated to the Chinese Communist Party the ability of modern aircraft carriers to deploy in a wide range of oceanic maneuvers, compared to the Chinese Communist Party’s twin carriers, which are still limited to near-shore drama.
The aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt left San Diego on December 23, 2020, and has been forward deployed for more than four months, moving from the eastern Pacific to the western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and to Alaska, in what can be described as a non-stop, always-on state of readiness. The Liaoning aircraft carrier has to return to port in less than a month after a rare trip to sea, making it more of a “geek” in the Chinese Communist Party’s own words.
The U.S. military’s other forward-deployed aircraft carrier, the USS Reagan, is expected to leave Yokosuka, Japan, soon to join the operational deployment in West Pacific. The USS Carl Vinson, which is still on the U.S. West Coast, is still undergoing continuous training for the integration of F-35C stealth fighters and F/A-18 Hornets, and is also ready to deploy depending on the war situation. However, with the recent laughing match caused by the dual Chinese carriers, the U.S. military should not need to raise its readiness level any further. The fact that the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier and the USS Mackenzie Island amphibious fleet dared to leave the Western Pacific temporarily shows that the U.S. military has long had a good idea of the dynamics of the Chinese Communist military.
U.S. Military Exercises in Alaska Actually Point to South China Sea
Participating in the 2021 North Front exercise, both the Roosevelt aircraft carrier, the Maxine Island amphibious fleet and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Brigade Airborne Unit of the 25th Infantry Division, the 17th Field Artillery Brigade and the 3rd Expeditionary Aerospace Task Force; the 53rd Air Force Wing in Florida will also participate in the exercise, constituting a joint practical training of the three armies. The U.S. military did not disclose the detailed training plan, but from the participating services, it should be an exercise in simultaneous amphibious landing and airborne counterattack operations, supported by carrier strike groups in conjunction with the Air Force.
Although the location of the exercise is in Alaska, the simulated combat area should actually be the South China Sea, or even the Taiwan Sea. From the scale of the exercise, it also actually exceeds the forces needed to seize the islands in the South China Sea, and is more likely to be simulating a landing from Hainan Island, or a counterattack landing in Taiwan. If the U.S. military were to take the South China Sea islands, air strikes by the air force and missile strikes by the navy would be enough to destroy the CCP military facilities, and the marines would only need to land on a small scale to clear the area. The U.S. military should not be cantoned on these islands, nor do they have the greater value of air bases.
If the U.S. military is prepared to carry out deep air strikes against CCP forces, establishing an air base on Hainan Island may be a major tactical option and actually has strategic significance.
On April 23, Xi Jinping made a special trip to Sanya, Hainan, to attend the delivery ceremony of three new Navy warships. These include the first Type 075 amphibious assault ship, the Type 094A strategic nuclear submarine – the Long March 18 boat – and the third Type 055 10,000-ton destroyer, all assigned to the South China Sea.
If the Chinese Communist Party provokes a war, the U.S. military will first have to destroy the Chinese Communist Party’s South China Sea fleet and Hainan Sanya base, including the nuclear submarine base, and the Marines may need to land to clear the area after U.S. air and missile attacks. If the war extends further, the U.S. military may also seize the airports on Hainan Island and establish air bases before launching large-scale air strikes on the Chinese Communist Party’s inland military bases.
The U.S. military reveals obvious deterrence signals
When the U.S. military announced the 2021 North Front exercise, it described it as tactical training for a variety of conflicts, rehearsing the ability to execute and advance joint tactics, techniques and procedures based on adaptation, and the exercise will include defensive air combat, close air support and maritime air deterrence.
The U.S. Air Force said the latest deliveries of F-15EX fighters, and F-15C, F-35, MQ-9, U-2 and B-52 bombers will participate in the exercise, testing the integration of hardware and software for fighter, bomber and reconnaissance platforms, including F-35 advanced tactics, B-52 long-range hypersonic kill chain integration, MQ-9 automated takeoff and landing and high-end combat capabilities, U-2 communications gateway testing; and advanced weapons demonstrations, integration with large forces, and fourth- and fifth-generation integration validation.
These announcements show that the U.S. military’s goal is not just to destroy the Chinese Communist Party’s military islands in the South China Sea. We have a great opportunity to demonstrate and enhance interoperability between amphibious forces and carrier strike groups, the Army and Air Force,” said Henry Kim, commander of USS Maxine Island.
The 15th Armored Unit, a forward-deployed expeditionary force, will validate and develop future operational capabilities and concepts during the exercise, said Fridrik Fridriksso, commander of the 15th Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Mackenzie Island.
The U.S. military is not only giving lessons to the Chinese Communist military, it is also releasing a full deterrent signal. If the U.S. military conducts a deep counterattack on Hainan Island, the strategic significance should be even greater. Not only will it be difficult for the Chinese Communist Army to cross the sea to implement manned tactics, but the Chinese Communist Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force will also be heavily restrained, and the Chinese Communist Military Commission will undoubtedly be more concerned about this than the other, and the Chairman of the Military Commission will have a hard time sleeping at night.
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