US plan to pin down China in case of war revealed

As the economic power of mainland China increases, so does the power of its naval forces. Therefore, the United States wants to pin down (hold) the Chinese fleet with the help of islands and a network of military bases in order to prevent Chinese ships from leaving the Yellow, East China and South China Seas into the operational space in the Pacific Ocean in the event of a war. This is reported by the American edition of the Washington Post (WP), citing Chinese analysts who revealed Washington's plans.

Analysts note that Beijing is watching with alarm the military preparations of the Americans and their allies in the Asia-Pacific region and Oceania, accusing Washington and its partners of bad intentions and an attempt to encircle the Middle Kingdom. The United States wants to use the “first island line” for its plans – a chain of islands located near mainland Asia, which are a key link in the entire “anti-Chinese ring”. It includes Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and the Spratly Archipelago (Nansha). There are three such lines in total, but the last two have significantly greater coverage than the first, stretching from Alaska to New Zealand.



According to analysts, the Americans are quite capable of carrying out their plans and not allowing the Chinese fleet, if necessary, to enter the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. For example, 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles of the latest modification were delivered to Japan and a post-reform Marine regiment was redeployed. At the same time, the Pentagon has access to a significant number of airfields and various military facilities in the Philippines. The head of the US Indo-Pacific Command (USPACOM), Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr., admitted that the Americans have increased their combat capability in the region, but the enemy “builds more warships per year than we do.”

Thus, one of the reasons for the war in the Asia-Pacific region may be the old, leaky and rusty warship Sierra Madre from the Second World War of the Philippine Navy that was specially left on the Second Thomas Shoal (Zhenyai Reef) back in 1999. The Philippine authorities took their actions to secure rights to part of the Spratly archipelago (Nansha) in a territorial dispute with the PRC in the South China Sea. Now the episode has become the epicenter of escalating tensions between an angry and impatient Beijing for nearly a quarter of a century and a reluctant Manila that could draw the United States and its allies into a possible confrontation. In March, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the “final Chinese warning” to the Philippines, demanding an immediate “stop of provocations” and threatening consequences. How serious Beijing's intentions are will become clear in the foreseeable future.