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| Chinese Navy ships on patrol (File Photo) |
The People's Liberation Army appears to be strategizing on how it would sandwich Japan from the north and south in the event of a military conflict, says a Taiwanese military expert.
Ching Chang, a research fellow at Taiwan's Society for Strategic Studies, made the comments in response to a series of naval drills conducted by the PLA's three main fleets — the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet — earlier this month.
On Dec. 4, the North Sea Fleet's flagship Harbin Type 052 destroyer, the 054A Yantai and Yancheng multi-role frigates, and the Taihu Type 903 replenishment ship, traveled east through the narrow Osumikaikyo Strait southwest of Japan, before heading north to perform drills by passing through the Kuril Islands north of Japan and into the Sea of Okhotsk. Then on Christmas Day, the fleet passed through the La Perouse Strait north of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido before returning via the disputed East China Sea.
Read the full story at Want China Times