Sat, May 02, 2020 page3

• PLAN’s ‘Liaoning’ maneuver aimed at achieving multiple results, analyst says

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) training mission in March involving the aircraft carrier Liaoning sailing through waters between Japan and Taiwan, and into the South China Sea, was a maneuver aimed at “hitting three birds with one stone,” a local defense analyst said.

  Wang Tsun-yen (王尊彥), an assistant research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s division of non-traditional security and military division, made the comment in a piece in the debut issue of the Defense Security Biweekly published on Friday last week.

  The Liaoning’s long-range training mission, which began on April 10, took it through the Miyako Strait near Okinawa, past eastern Taiwan and into the South China Sea through the Bashi Channel, could have been in response to two maritime incidents involving Japan and Vietnam, Wang said.

  

  A photo released by Xinhua news agency shows the People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning accompanied by navy frigates and submarines conducting exercises in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018.

  Photo: Xinhua via AP

  On March 30, a Chinese fishing boat collided with the Japanese destroyer Shimakaze in the East China Sea, while on April 2, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel sank a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea.

  There were 10 injuries, but no loss of life in the two incidents.

  Beijing’s decision to sail the Liaoning and its escort through waters near Japan instead of going to the South China Sea directly through the Taiwan Strait, showed that the voyage was targeted at Japan, but also designed to exert pressure on Vietnam, Wang said.

  The Chinese fishing boat’s collision with the Japanese destroyer could be part of an asymmetric move to drive Japan’s Self-Defense Force out of the area, he said, citing reports that the Chinese fishing boat was actually a military vessel.

  The incident in the South China Sea was not the first time China and Vietnam had clashed at sea, and Beijing might have wanted to teach Hanoi a lesson about getting too close to Japan and the US, Wang said, citing the visit of the Japanese helicopter carrier Izumo to Vietnam in June last year, and a port call of US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt last month.

  As most US aircraft carriers are docked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing wants to convey the message that “the US big brother is not reliable” and that the “Chinese People’s Liberation Army is not affected by the outbreak and still can go to your doorsteps,” Wang said.

  “With the Chinese navy fleet’s sailing routes, it is quite obvious that China wants to show its muscle to Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan, with a strategy aimed at hitting three birds with one stone,” he said.

  However, China does not want to further escalate tensions on two fronts at the same time, as Japan and Vietnam both play important geopolitical roles and Beijing itself is busy handling internal and external problems, including the pandemic, Wang said.

  As Japan and Vietnam have strengthened two-way security cooperation, including the signing of several agreements and Tokyo’s donations of patrol boats to Vietnam amid China’s increased assertiveness, any easing of tension in the region is unlikely in the near term, Wang said.
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