US Armed Forces ‘Maximum Pressure’ in the South China Sea ‘Unprecedented’: Beijing Think Tank

The US military exerted “maximum pressure” in the South China Sea last year, thanks to “unprecedented” naval and air force deployments to the area, a Chinese study group said in its latest report.

Strategic weapon platforms, including aircraft carrier strike groups and ready-made amphibious groups, have been present in contested waters for more days than anyone in recent memory, said the South China Sea Strategic Situation Survey Initiative (SCSPI) on Friday.

“The intensity, in terms of scale, number and duration, of US military activities in the region in 2020 has rarely been seen in recent years,” said the 38-page report in Chinese and English.

The Beijing-based think tank tracks military activity in the South China Sea, with a particular focus on American forces. This is the third consecutive year that it publishes a document detailing the US presence in the region using publicly available information.

Its director, Hu Bo, who also runs the Center for Maritime Strategy Studies – a think tank at Peking University – wrote a newspaper article this month in which he said that the US military’s constant appearances since the beginning of 2021 were one. sign of “insecurities”.

Attack groups from US Navy and Air Force aircraft carriers, strategic bombers and nuclear attack submarines were frequently seen in the energy-rich sea last year, “representing an unprecedented deterrence against China,” according to the SCSPI.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea through vast territorial declarations. Other claimants include Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Brunei.

American military activity in the area is done in the name of the legal freedom of navigation and overflight operations, both of which seek to challenge the broad maritime claims in the area.

Chinese think tank points to USS carrier strike groups Theodore Roosevelt, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan as notable examples of a strong US military presence in the South China Sea last year.

USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan conducted two double-carrier exercises in the region during the last year of the Trump administration, while the USS Nimitz joined the USS Theodore Roosevelt for another double door drill last month, this time under President Joe Biden.

US Navy warships covered “highly sensitive areas” during their navigation operations, including around Chinese-controlled reefs on the Spratly Islands, the detailed report said.

A mix of civilian and military aircraft was sent to the South China Sea for reconnaissance missions to monitor the Chinese military, said the SCSPI, with spikes in activity corresponding to the People’s Liberation Army exercises.

The institute said that American spy planes carried out nearly 1,000 reconnaissance missions in the waters in 2020. U.S. Air Force bombers carried out 17 missions, including “simulating bombings on the Spratly Islands,” it said.

The SCSPI said the data indicates that the United States is increasing its “combat readiness among the armed forces”, while devising ways to contain China’s area-denial capability.

The southwest corner of Taiwan – an entrance to the South China Sea from the Western Pacific – was now an area of ​​”main focus” on military rivalry between China and the United States, his report said.

The US Navy reported that warships transited the Taiwan Strait 13 times in 2020. SCSPI data shows that the number is higher than any 12-month period in the past 14 years.

The “frequency and intensity” of navy navigation through the narrow channel between China and Taiwan has led to “increasing potential military risks,” said the think tank.

The report concluded: “In 2020, the US military exerted maximum pressure on the South China Sea through a series of intensive movements, such as the deployment of several strategic weapon platforms for the region, often operating near parked islands and reefs. in China and transiting the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to show off their military power and deter China. “

The United States, says the SCSPI, is losing its military dominance in the Western Pacific due to China’s effective countermeasures. But as Washington focuses more attention on the Indo-Pacific, the research institute predicted that similar US military activities would continue under President Biden – this time with the involvement of more regional allies and partners.