- A photo of the US Navy destroyer USS Mustin shadowing Chinese warships is described as a form of ‘cognitive warfare’.
- China and the US are both building up their forces in the East and South China Seas by sending carriers and escorts to the region.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The U.S. military has conducted a form of “cognitive warfare” following the latest encounter between its warships and the Chinese navy.
Both countries have deployed aircraft carrier strike groups to the East and South China Seas, led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the Liaoning.
The US on Sunday released a photo in which one of its destroyers with guided missiles, the USS Mustin, overshadowed the Liaoning group – a move designed by analysts to send a clear message to the Chinese.
In the photo taken somewhere in the East China Sea on Monday, the captain of the ship, Cmdr. Robert J Briggs, and his deputy, Cmdr. Richard D Slye and look at the Liaoning, which was only a few thousand yards away.
“In the photo, Cmdr Briggs looks very relaxed with his feet up and looking at the Liaoning ship just a few thousand meters away, while his deputy also sits next to him and shows that they take their PLA counterparts lightly,” Lu said. Li-shih said. a former instructor at the Marine Naval Academy in Kaohsiung.
“This phased picture is definitely ‘cognitive warfare’ to show that the US does not see the PLA as an immediate threat.”
Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Yuan Wang Brainstorming Institute, a institute of military science and technology in Beijing, said the photo showed the US warship keeping a ‘very safe distance’ while overshadowing the Liaoning .
“Both sides understand that there is a huge gap between the US and Chinese aircraft carrier strike groups,” Zhou said.
Kmdt. Robert J. Briggs and Cmdr. Richard D. Slye monitors Chinese ships aboard the destroyer USS Mustin in the Philippine Sea on April 4, 2021.
US Navy / MCS3 Arthur Rosen
Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Kanwa Defense Review in Canada, said the photo was a “warning to the PLA” that the US had been thoroughly informed about the Liaoning strike group.
The Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative said the U.S. military has increased the deployment of aircraft and warships to the East and South China Seas.
It is also said that the USS Mustin was sent to waters near the mouth of the Yangtze River on April 3, and has been following the Liaoning group through the East and South China Seas since last Sunday.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier group also includes the Nanchang, one of China’s most advanced Type 055 destroyers, two other destroyers, a frigate and a support ship.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense apparently also sent the destroyer JS Suzutsuki and two patrol planes to monitor the strike group as it pulled between Okinawa and Miyako Island on Sunday.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd held a telephone conversation with his Philippine counterpart Delfin Lorenzana to confirm their shared commitment to their alliance after Chinese vessels collapsed along a disputed reef according to the Pentagon.
China described the presence of the 200 vessels near Whitsun Reef as “normal and legal” and said officials maintained close communication with the Philippines.
But the Philippines described the vessels as a maritime militia and last week, broadcaster ABS-CBN claimed that two Chinese missile-armed vessels had driven the ship carrying its news crew near Palawan province. The broadcaster said it was the first time a military maneuver had been recorded against a civilian boat.
Antony Wong Tong, Macau’s military observer, said the report indicated that the PLA was carrying type 022 missile boats to Mischief Reef, one of the seven artificial islands that Beijing recaptured, in the disputed Spratly Islands, which is only 250 km Palawan is, has reclaimed. .
“The mass of China’s maritime military vessels at Whitsun Reef implies that Beijing may try to resume its land reclamation project on the Spratly Islands due to the geostrategic location of Whitsun Reef, located between Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef,” Wong said. said.
“China has realized Mischief is too far from the mainland and too isolated in the Sprat List, but expanding land around Whitsun Reef will solve the problem.”