The PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier is believed to have taken an alternative route to the east of Taiwan ahead of a drill last week, a move analysts say was likely to be training to counter American warships nearby and to explore alternative routes in the event of a conflict over the island.
Ahead of the two-day exercise around Taiwan, the Shandong appears to have bypassed the wider waterways between the self-ruled island and the Philippines. Instead, the warship transited via narrower waterways of the Philippine archipelago, according to mainland Chinese and Taiwanese military experts.
Analysts said the new route could give the People’s Liberation Army alternative southbound options to approach the western Pacific via the Bashi Channel, which is seen as a strategic chokepoint. Northbound options included transiting through the waterway between Japan and Taiwan.
The Shandong – the PLA’s first domestically built aircraft carrier – conducted joint manoeuvres with its naval and aerial units to the southeast of Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The aircraft carrier strike group included Type 055 destroyer the Xianyang, the Zhanjiang Type 051 destroyer and the Type 054A frigate Hengshui, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office.
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Shandong aircraft carrier moves into Taiwan response zone ahead of PLA drills
Shandong aircraft carrier moves into Taiwan response zone ahead of PLA drills
To approach Taiwan’s east coast – a critical area for foreign support and underwater warfare – the PLA must cross the first island chain. That gateway from the East Asian continental mainland coast to the Pacific Ocean extends from Japan’s home islands through the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and the Philippines.
