PLA carriers crucial in reunification-by-force Taiwan operation
After the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted intensive aerial and naval exercises near Taiwan for two consecutive days on Wednesday and Thursday, the military on the island is fearing a potential island encirclement patrol by the PLA’s two aircraft carriers, Taiwan media said on Friday.
Mainland analysts said on Friday that the PLA drills are normal training missions with the aim of honing the capabilities to win a war should one break out in the Taiwan Straits, and are responses and warnings to secessionist moves including drills that simulate a PLA attack and encouraging top US officials to visit the island.
Multiple PLA warplanes including Su-30 fighter jets and Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft again entered the island’s “air defense identification zone” off the “airspace” southwest to Taiwan on Thursday, after PLA Su-30 and J-10 fighter jets conducted similar missions on Wednesday, Taiwan media reported on Thursday, citing the island’s defense authority.
The PLA activities come at a time when the computer-aided war games phase of Taiwan’s Han Kuang drills, which has the PLA in mind, are about to begin on Monday.
Citing speculation by an officer at the island’s naval force, a Taiwan media report said the Taiwan military is preparing for the possibility that the Liaoning and the Shandong, the PLA’s two aircraft carriers, could conduct exercises and encircle the island around September 22.
Mainland experts said that the two PLA carriers can play important roles in a potential reunification-by-force operation by attacking the island from different sides and intercepting possible US intervention.
The Shandong will eventually leave its shipyard in Northeast China and return to its home port in Sanya, Hainan Province, during which it will likely pass the Taiwan Straits again, observers said.
“The Shandong will eventually leave its shipyard and return to its home port in Sanya, during which it will likely pass the Taiwan Straits again.”
Observers