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PLA aircraft carrier may have explored alternative route to Taiwan’s east before drill
The Shandong appears to have transited narrower waterways of the Philippines instead of taking Bashi Channel, according to military experts
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Hayley Wongin Beijing
The PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier is believed to have taken an alternative route to the east of Taiwan ahead of a drill last week, according to a mainland Chinese analyst and Taiwanese media reports.
Observers say the move was likely to have been part of training to counter American warships nearby and to explore alternative routes in the event of a conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
Ahead of the two-day PLA exercise around Taiwan, the Shandong appeared to have bypassed the wider Bashi Channel between the self-ruled island and the Philippines, and transited via the narrower waterways within the Philippine archipelago.
Analysts said the new route could give the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) alternative southbound options to approach the western Pacific instead of the Bashi Channel, a heavily monitored waterway seen as a strategic chokepoint. Northbound options include transiting through the waterway between Japan and Taiwan, specifically the Miyako Strait.
The Shandong – the PLA’s first domestically built aircraft carrier – conducted joint manoeuvres with its naval and aerial units to the southeast of Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The aircraft carrier strike group included the Type 055 destroyer Xianyang, Type 051 destroyer the Zhanjiang and the Type 054A frigate Hengshui, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office.
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