China says PLA Rocket Force joined Shandong carrier group in drills near US base in western Pacific
- Disclosure seen as show of force by Chinese military, highlighting improved precision strike capacity as Taiwan Strait tensions spike
- CCTV report suggests fighter jets could be ‘eyes in the sky’ to help the rocket force strike targets thousands of kilometres away, analyst says
This came as Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the Shandong flotilla had wrapped up a nearly 30-day exercise in the western Pacific region that included unprecedented systematic joint operations with the rocket force and other fighting wings.
The exercise, which took place about 400 nautical miles (741km) northwest of Guam last month, involved the Shandong aircraft carrier, a Type 055 destroyer, two Type 052D destroyers, two Type 054A frigates and a Type 901 replenishment ship, according to Japan’s Self-Defence Force.
While it is not uncommon for the Chinese navy to carry out drills near Guam, some analysts said disclosing that the rocket force took part indicated a deterrence strategy by the Chinese military. They said it highlighted the PLA’s enhanced capacity for precision hits on moving surface targets or naval bases beyond the so-called first island chain of defence.
The chain, which usually refers to the archipelagos running through Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, is considered by some military strategists to be a formidable barrier for the PLA in exiting or entering the western Pacific.
According to Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, 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.
“The CCTV report suggests that the J-15D Roaring Shark [fighter jets] – 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.”
Zhou said the CCTV report could be seen as part of the PLA’s “strategic deterrence”, warning the US and its allies about its enhanced strike capability as tensions spike over Taiwan.
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Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Tong said the CCTV report served to impress upon the US that China’s rocket force was capable of hitting Guam with its advanced DF-26 ballistic missile with the support of its aircraft carriers.
The DF-26 dual-capable missile, which is an enhancement of the PLA’s DF-21 “carrier killer” missile, has a range of 4,000km (2,484 miles) and is capable of hitting Guam from the Chinese mainland. The strike range of the DF-21 is about 1,750km. Both DF21 and DF-26 are hypersonic missiles.
“This is why the US is prepared to upgrade its missile defence systems on Guam with more comprehensive protection and other assets,” Wong said, referring to the Pentagon’s recent plans to invest US$1.5 billion in a new missile and air shield for the island base.
US demands Beijing stop ‘provocative and unsafe’ acts in South China Sea
The PLA has started testing the precision capability of its missiles on moving targets on the high seas using smaller warships such as its Type 052D destroyer and Type 071 amphibious transport dock in recent years, said Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung.
“Chinese aircraft carriers carrying out exercises on the high seas always provide good optics for foreign militaries, so the exercise by Shandong was a good opportunity for Beijing to warn the US about intervention [in the Taiwan Strait],” he said.
In August 2020, the PLA launched a DF-21D and DF-26B to hit a moving ship in the South China Sea after a US U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.
