As reported by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, Taiwan is tracking a group of Chinese warships, including the Liaoning aircraft carrier, that are currently conducting drills in the Western Pacific. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry stated that these drills were meant to restrict Taiwan’s ability to use its own airspace and waters, which is a key element of the “area denial” military strategy.
These exercises in the Western Pacific are drawing notice because of its strategic importance as a major route for regional commerce, troop movements, and the alliances formed between China, Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S.
The regular training of the military includes naval exercises; however, the size, geography, and purpose of such exercises will affect how neighboring states perceive regional security. Because there are many military forces operating in close proximity within a particular region, even standard operations can result in enhanced monitoring and diplomatic activity.
What does area denial mean?
The term “area denial” describes military capabilities developed to make it more difficult or risky for an opposing force to enter, travel across or function inside a specific area.
These types of operations may utilize airplanes, boats (surface ships), underwater vehicles (submarines), ground-based anti-ship missiles, monitoring networks, and extended-distance weapons. While these types of operations are designed to restrict the ability of another military force to operate freely, they do not require taking over land.
In addition to providing practice in coordinating multiple types of platforms, area-denial exercises in maritime operations allow forces to practice identifying potential threats and responding to the movements of other ships and/or aircraft.
Aircraft carriers provide a mobile base for aircraft operations and support naval forces that operate far away from their bases.
The description of an exercise as area denial, on its own, does not provide proof that a military operation is in preparation for an immediate attack. There are many reasons why militaries conduct training; some of these include readiness, signaling and testing the ability of different units to work together.
To understand how important an exercise is, it takes knowledge of where it occurred, for how long it lasted, who took part in it and what they did.
Why the Liaoning carrier matters
The Liaoning was one of China’s first aircraft carriers. It helped establish the foundation for China’s carrier-based aviation program.
Navy flight deck operations involve the coordination of many different elements, including ship movement, air traffic control, crew training, and logistics. Navy exercises are designed to enhance these operational areas by providing opportunities to test and refine flight deck procedures, communications systems, navigational skills, and the capability of working in conjunction with other ships in a battle group.
Operating in the West Pacific also allows for training in marine environments outside of China’s direct coastal waters.
Because of this, neighboring governments will want to keep track of these types of deployments, as it may provide insight into how ready a force is operationally, and where that force has been deployed.
On the other hand, the deployment of an aircraft carrier will alone not show if a certain military operation is a significant shift in U.S. military policy. Generally speaking, analysts must evaluate the deployment against other past deployments, as well as the larger strategic environment.
Taiwan’s security concerns
The security conditions in Taiwan are related to the development of militaries on either side of the Strait of Taiwan as well as in the water surrounding Taiwan.
The island has its own armed force that protects it from attacks by other countries. It also watches what China is doing with their military so they can plan how to protect themselves. This watching can be done using radar, planes, ships or any type of system used to determine what the military is doing.
Authorities need to monitor because monitoring provides them with the means of identifying when things are normal, as opposed to when events have taken place that might require their intervention.
The system helps make decisions on how prepared a unit is, how to communicate with other units and how to distribute the defense resources.
Military encounters also present risk of misinterpretation of action by opposing forces and operating in close proximity to each other without effective communication.
This is why governments and safety experts stress the importance of understanding what’s going on around you, conducting yourself professionally, and having ways to prevent accidental increases in violence.
The wider Western Pacific picture
The Western Pacific is a key strategic zone which has some of the world’s most significant commercial sea lanes, as well as military operational zones, and many competing land ownership disputes.
The U.S., along with its regional allies, has maintained their respective fleets and conducted training operations designed to enhance the ability of these nations to provide for the safety of the seas, and to operate effectively together. Meanwhile, China has continued to develop its naval force.
Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and other countries in the region are keeping track of military activity because it could have an impact on how each country plans for its own defense and on the security of the waters around them.
Understanding the deployment of multiple military forces is even more critical when we consider the scope of the various deployments. One-time training events may only be relevant locally, but long-term patterns of military activity can represent much larger concerns.
Therefore, defense analysts consider many aspects of the operations including how many ships were involved, where the ships operated, how often the ships were deployed and if these operations occurred during periods when other political or military actions took place.
Public reporting can’t provide all the necessary information for establishing every operational goal, especially when the exercises include classified systems or sensitive military planning.
Implications for regional security
The most recent reported activity demonstrates that maritime surveillance and military readiness will continue to be important in the western Pacific.
For Taiwan, tracking the movements of Chinese naval ships during their exercises helps maintain an understanding of the potential security risks. On the other hand, the deployment of a Chinese aircraft carrier could help train crew members and show off the capabilities of China’s growing navy.
The regional government’s action provides yet another opportunity for the other governments to review how well they monitor maritime issues, communicate about them, and coordinate on defense.
Military exercises can be evaluated based upon what is known about them rather than being viewed as an indication of an impending war.
In order to understand the circumstances, it is necessary to have clear information regarding what took place, where forces were deployed and the manner in which governments reacted.
The regional military’s capability is changing, therefore it will be critical for both the public and policy makers to understand the difference between routine training and a significant change in operational status.
Therefore, the current emphasis is on continuing to monitor the wider effects of naval operations, instead of making a conclusion regarding the degree to which an escalation has occurred prior to having sufficient evidence.