Ongoing encroachment by China in the disputed South China Sea has prompted the U.S. Navy to the live-fire missiles to show it is not afraid to take on China. Americans are also not afraid of the so called new systems of the People's Liberation Army.
The firing drill was done on the eastern ocean of the Philippines on Thursday. Conducting the launch onboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry, which launched a medium-range Standard Missile-2.
Along with the USS Barry came the guided cruiser USS Shiloh that fired the SM-2 as part of the firing drill. The Seventh Navy has been limited to patrol in contested areas. This is the first live firing the U.S. has done in recent time.
Demonstration of Washington's resolve has shaken the People's Liberation Army. Beijing based military specialist Zhou Chenming noted that these firing drills are not usual. It was seen as a warning to the PLA.
“The US Navy is worried about Chinese missiles, which China could use as a trump card in a military conflict between the two parties in the region. The Seventh Fleet wants to warn Beijing that it can intercept missiles from China,” Zhou said, according to Business Insider.
Another Chinese military analyst, Li Jie, is convinced that the missile launch was a warning to China and a bit to Russia.
Li Jie added the Seventh Fleet is telling China they can lob missiles to counter the PLA's claims of advanced missiles.
The Peoples Liberation Army is crowing over their newest weapons to counter America's advance weaponry. One of the bigger threats to U.S. ships is the carrier-killer DF-21D, also the anti-ship missile DF-26, it is long-ranged with 4,000 Km range, in striking distance of the US Naval base in Guam.
Both DF-21 and DF-26 are the weapons the Chinese rely on to counter American might in the ocean theatre of combat.
Sources like the Pentagon point out that either one of the missiles could have been tested in June when PLA Rocket Force conducted tests in the disputed South China Sea where the areas occupied are not legally theirs, because they purloined it.
The U.S. combats ships are state of the art with the latest Aegis combat system two years ago. This combat system can defend naval bases like Guam, and U.S. warships for the Chinese missiles.
According to Collin Koh Swee Lean, a research fellow with the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies' Maritime Security Programme in Singapore, the PLA is still far behind but the U.S. is after more upgrades and tests to wallop their opponents.
Koh added," Given the shift in defence focus to the Indo-Pacific and with the PLA threat in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if the US Navy conducted more such live-fire exercises to validate the fleet's capabilities against the evolving PLA missile strength." The conflict of the Philippine Seas will be a major battlefield for a China-U.S. armed conflict.
The American missile launch is relevant as the US forms alliances with Vietnam, the Philippines, and other Asian allies, to stop China's ambitions in the South China Sea.
Related article: Debris From Chinese Rocket Crashed into Southwest China
