Domestic official media reported that the navy 054A Xianning successfully expelled the destroyer "Bendford" (DDG-65) from the Xisha Islands, thus safeguarding the country's maritime sovereignty. Later, the Australian media exposed an "Anzak" class frigate of the Australian Navy. On the way across the South China Sea, when passing through the South China Sea and the East China Sea, it was monitored by the China Navy's Type 052C destroyer and Type 093 nuclear-powered submarine, and the "most intense interaction" occurred in the East China Sea. The two "events" of continuous exposure are similar in nature and process. Our navy confronted foreign warships in two sensitive sea areas and finally successfully drove away. It should be pointed out that the story behind these two expulsions is not over.
It is not particularly surprising that Xianning Ship expelled the USS Bendford. In particular, the domestic official media released a picture of the close confrontation between the two sides less than 24 hours after the incident, and made the general process public. Compared with the more complicated confrontation action of Changsha ship in the South China Sea (which was made public several months later), this official action is extremely fast.
Considering that Xianning ship is only a few kilometers away from the US ship, it can be called the distance of "bayonet on warship". A more reasonable explanation for this is that after the American ship exposed its purpose, our Xianning ship responded quickly and successfully intercepted the American ship at a very close distance. Contrary to the conservative normal practice in the past, the official immediately took the initiative to report the interception, which is obviously an appreciation for the decisive disposal action, but it is not so obvious.
The action process of Xianning ship can be called the benchmark action of the navy in handling the invading American ship in Xisha Islands. After years of hard work, the navy of the Southern Theater has established a water patrol surveillance network in Xisha and Nansha Islands with a 4000-ton frigate as the core, and can obtain intelligence support from the Air Police -500 early warning aircraft and Yun -9 high-tech anti-submarine patrol aircraft deployed in the South China Sea Air Force Base. American navy destroyers moving from the depths of the South China Sea to the Xisha Islands often use the dense merchant ships in the South China Sea to cover their bodies and then break into the gap. On the other hand, we often rely on early warning aircraft and patrol aircraft in the air to find its trail, and then mobilize destroyers in nearby waters to intercept it. This is the origin of the process of "forming navy and air force" in official reports.
In contrast, contact with Australian frigates is very different. Other countries did not report the contact between Australian frigates and China naval vessels, and even the domestic media did not report any news. A more reasonable explanation is that Australia's "Anzak" class frigate should sail in the sea far from home, so its contact with the outside world is limited, which is why our navy dispatched 052C and 093 types to attack nuclear submarines.
Prior to this, whether in the South China Sea or the East China Sea, whether dealing with ships from the United States or other countries, 054A and 056A were the most frequently deployed surface equipment. In contrast, although the performance of 052C is not as good as that of 052D and 055 destroyers, it seems that it is no longer a hot spot of public concern. However, as a 6,000-ton destroyer equipped with four-sided phased array radar, it is enough to become the absolute main force in any sea area outside China and the United States.
As a real "Chinese Aegis", it is very extravagant for 052C to perform tracking and monitoring tasks, even though there are a large number of 052D and 055s. A more reasonable explanation is that although the Australian "Anzak" class frigate came alone on the surface, its every move can be coordinated by the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, which can be seen from the fact that the Australian frigate finally ended its visit to South Korea and directly entered the US Navy's military base in Japan. It is in this complicated situation that the navy will send 052C, which has a larger tonnage and stronger self-sustaining, and is more suitable for activities in the open sea, carrying satellite communication equipment, and can contact the rear for monitoring at any time. As for the very rare dispatch of the Type 093 nuclear submarine, it is even more unexpected.
The development of China's naval submarine force, especially the nuclear submarine force, is not so ideal, mainly reflected in its technical performance. Even on the Type 094 strategic nuclear submarine, which was commissioned in April 20021,there are still "turtle backs" that are considered to be outdated in technology.
China's navy always goes out to sea. As an indispensable underwater attack and defense weapon to defend the aircraft carrier, domestic attack nuclear submarines must quickly break through the relatively backward technical form before and grow into an elite force capable of dealing with advanced American nuclear submarines and surface anti-submarine forces.
The Australian Navy, as a maritime force that is often jointly trained with the US Navy and even equipped with a large number of advanced American military equipment, is deeply influenced by the US Navy in terms of technological development and anti-submarine mechanism. Sending a frigate across the East China Sea by the Australian Navy is actually as symbolic as sending a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft to patrol the South China Sea earlier.
Taking advantage of the Australian Navy's attempt to follow the US Navy, the China Navy unexpectedly dispatched the Type 093 nuclear submarine to contact it in the waters near the open sea, improving the ability of nuclear submarine troops to deal with the US anti-submarine system and laying a good foundation for going to the open sea in the future.
The process of contact between the two sides is definitely not "pleasant" or even "warm", and it makes the Australian side very passive and helpless. Therefore, the Australian side not only said that the two sides had "the most intense interaction", but also refused to disclose any specific details.
The contact between China Navy and US-Australian naval vessels presents two situations, namely, the planned interception by China in the offshore and the sudden interception on the high seas. This complicated situation is also a true portrayal of China's navy gradually moving from offshore to offshore. Judging from the performance of domestic 054A, 052C and 093 ships and the attitude of the US and Australian navies afterwards, the interception ability of the navy in offshore waters has been excellent, and even the arrogant US Navy is hard not to be unscrupulous. Benefiting from the rapid growth of the scale of advanced ships, we can also have a relatively proper way to deal with the sudden situation of the Australian naval frigate in the far sea, and even take the opportunity to arrange the 093 nuclear submarine to complete the corresponding training subjects. On the whole, the growth of the navy in recent years is indeed commendable.
It is believed that China's navy's response to other countries' ships is not "perfect", especially the interception action is not tough enough, which is far less than the "Our ship was ordered to collide with your ship" action taken by the Soviet navy in the Black Sea 1986. It seems that it cannot satisfy the outside world. However, from the actual situation, the activities of the US Navy destroyers in the Xisha Islands and even more sensitive waters are very similar to the repeated crossings of the US Navy in the Black Sea. Therefore, the historical events of the Black Sea are deeply remembered and completely understandable by the outside world, but few people realize that even in the decades-long confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, this high-intensity confrontation has only happened several times. The fundamental reason behind this is that under the background of long-term fierce confrontation, it is very common for the United States and the Soviet Union to test and detect each other's information. If every test triggers a landslide-like reaction, it will be an unbearable price for both sides.
China's navy has made great progress, but the gap with the US navy is still obvious, and it has not reached the same status as the Soviet navy and the US navy in the 1980s. It is not in our strategic interest to suppress it blindly. More importantly, since 1974, China's navy launched a fierce battle with South Vietnam to recover the Xisha Islands, and it has always attached great importance to this sea area. Whether in July 20 19, seven China naval vessels surrounded the aircraft carrier Reagan, which broke into the South China Sea alone, or in September 20 18, the China Navy 052C170 Lanzhou intercepted the destroyer Decatur (DDG-73) which broke into the South China Sea at close range, and the distance between the two sides was even greater. Facts have proved that China's navy is definitely not a maritime force that will not use tough measures, but will choose a more appropriate and strategic way.
From the historical development, China's sovereignty over Xisha and Nansha Islands is beyond doubt. However, in the early years, the development of naval equipment really lagged behind and the level of equipment was very limited, so that after the 1988 Nansha naval battle, our army had to withdraw from the battlefield because of the serious shortage of destroyers suitable for activities in the COSCO Sea. In fact, because the South China Sea is an absolute strategic artery, which is of great significance to the hegemony of the US Navy, US naval vessels have been able to move relatively freely in the South China Sea. It was after the rapid growth of China's navy and the completion of infrastructure construction of several islands and reefs in the South China Sea that the activities of the US navy in the South China Sea began to encounter China's legitimate rights protection.
Because of its strategic significance, the South China Sea has attracted the attention of many countries, including countries around the South China Sea such as the Philippines and Vietnam, and overseas countries such as Australia, France and Britain, but China and the United States still play a decisive role. As the strongest maritime power in the world, the US Navy has always regarded the South China Sea as the key to show its maritime hegemony and contain China.
As a maritime power that has just leapt to the second place in the world, the China Navy is gradually heading for the far sea, and its ability to control the situation in the South China Sea is improving day by day.
However, we need to realize that the collision between these two forces is doomed to be a long contest and evolution process. It is obviously irrational to think that one or two tough measures can completely change the situation. Similar "contacts" with American and Australian warships will reappear frequently in the future, and every successful interception is the cornerstone of final victory.