According to the US Military Review Media Magazine, although during the Barack Obama administration, the United States launched the "Return to Asia" strategy, planning to evacuate most of the U.S. overseas troops from Middle East and Europe and re-deploy it to the Asia-Pacific region. , in order to curb China's rise. However, in the past decade, the Western Pacific region has not given the United States an absolute advantage because of the increase in US troops. On the contrary, its dominant position is gradually shifting to the People's Liberation Army.
US media said that the trend of this advantage conversion is expected to continue until the 2030s. At present, the PLA's current speed of obtaining new military equipment has far exceeded that of the United States. Previously, the US Air Force's deputy assistant secretary in charge of defense procurement had said that the Chinese military's procurement of new defense equipment was five or six times faster than that of the US military. Taking the easier-to-observe naval destroyers as an example, in 2021, the Chinese Navy obtained three 055 and seven 052DL missile destroyers, while the US Navy only obtained one Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer . The new equipment obtained by the PLA is more concentrated in the Northeast Asia region, while the new equipment obtained by the US military is distributed around the world, which means that the PLA's traditional advantages in the Western Pacific region may be Very huge.
US media said that since the end of World War II and the demise of the Japanese Empire, the United States has always regarded the Asia-Pacific region as a "American lake." However, the current shift in military balance is increasingly causing the US military to lose control of the region, so it is necessary for the US military to take measures to fight the People's Liberation Army. If a regional war breaks out here, it is expected that the US military will deploy several times the firepower.
US media said that as the US military gradually loses its dominant position in the Asia-Pacific region, the US military seems to be increasingly considering adopting asymmetric tactics to fight the People's Liberation Army. With the rapid development of the PLA's modernization, the US military will be more inclined to use asymmetric tactics in the next decade. For example, the US Navy's demand for 100,000-ton nuclear-powered super aircraft carriers is increasing. The cost of each of these super aircraft carriers is more than US$13 billion. Such high costs have not increased their Survival rates, although combat power may increase, are increasingly vulnerable to China's long-range anti-ship weapons.
Currently, the PLA has a number of regional denial/anti-intervention weapons. With these weapons, the PLA can prevent or destroy the activities of the US Navy's aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific region. If war breaks out in the Asia-Pacific region, these weapons can cause a fatal blow to the military base deployed by the US military in the Asia-Pacific region. If US Navy forms a transcontinental long-range support fleet, the PLA's Dongfeng-26 can be in a zone of more than 4,000 kilometers. Strike the US fleet. If the US aircraft carrier fleet is fortunate to avoid the attack of Dongfeng-26, it will also face blocking of Dongfeng-21D anti-ship missiles and Dongfeng-17 hypersonic missiles , and will also face air, land, sea and under the sea. The entire three-dimensional weapon strike. Under the blow of these weapons, the survival rate of US aircraft carriers will drop to its lowest point.
US media said that in order to prevent the super-nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from being destroyed, the US Navy is considering using a lighter 40,000-ton aircraft carrier, such as the amphibious assault ship "Tripoli", known as the "lightning aircraft carrier", which can carry more It has reached 20 F-35B fifth-generation stealth vertical take-off and landing fighters. Although this type of light aircraft carrier can only deploy a small part of the firepower of a 100,000-ton super heavy aircraft carrier, this type of aircraft carrier will be more flexible and in line with the US military's "discrete deployment" combat policy, avoiding being taken to the point. They will have a greater chance of approaching the enemy to fight, each "lightning carrier" has a small crew and deploying a small number of F-35B fighter . This type of vertical take-off and landing fighter is very suitable for taking off and landing on temporary runways. , even if part of the runway is destroyed, it does not affect their normal takeoff and landing, which is crucial during wartime.
US media said that the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty in 2018 mainly to deploy medium-range land-based ballistic missiles and cruise missiles to East Asia. This can also be seen as a sign of the US military's turn. Adopt asymmetric tactics. The use of land-based missiles has long been seen as a way for weak countries to threaten major powers. For example, North Korea is a good example. China has been like this for decades until its conventional military power gradually modernizes.
US media said that these land-based missiles will be deployed in the United States' Asia-Pacific allies. They use movable launchers, which are more survivable than the air bases where fighters and bombers are located, and can be safer than fighters. Strike high-value targets in depth within the enemy's territory, such as enemy airports, command posts, etc., and can launch a surprise attack on the enemy's airports as soon as the war breaks out, causing the enemy's air power to be invalid. At the same time, land-based anti-ship missiles can also be deployed near key waterways, such as Miyako Strait , which suppresses the activities of hostile countries' naval ships through anti-ship missile , and has a certain chance to destroy them, and these anti-ship missiles The cost of ship missiles is only a small part of the modern aircraft carrier, destroyer , and frigate .
In addition to the above two points, US media also said that another sign of the United States' transformation to an asymmetric strategy is that US Marine Corps is undergoing a series of improvement plans. One of the most important changes is to abandon all tank and most armored vehicles and howitzer systems, while cutting a large number of aviation units to make the army smaller and lighter. According to the US military, they need an army with a large number of tanks, but they do not need an Marine Corps with a tank. This plan will be in line with the Marines’ increasingly stressed stealth operations, in which the Marines will attack without being discovered.
U.S. media said that the transformation of the US Marine Corps will be far from the offensive action of the "overwhelming superior firepower" they had during World War II, as seen in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, The attack scenes that rely on firepower and technological advantages will be gone forever. When facing high-tech rivals like the People's Liberation Army, a series of new equipment must be adopted. The Marine Corps will be equipped with land-based long-range rocket launchers, missiles, and drones, such as the highly maneuverable Haimas rocket launchers, and M270 rocket launchers. They can also launch land-based anti-ship missiles, which can be used to harass the enemy. Square battleship.
US media said that is expected to use these long-range mobile weapons, Marines will try to injure the PLA regular troops with asymmetric and somewhat guerrilla-like tactics, suppressing the PLA Navy without the need for the US Navy fleet to participate in the war surface ship , etc. At the same time, the US media also described the situation of the modified Marine Corps in the Asia-Pacific region: "The PLA has more warships, aircraft and land-based firepower than the US military in this area. If they (PLA) If you find you (US Marine Corps), you will be in big trouble. "
Through the reports of the US media, it can be seen that the US military has turned to an asymmetric strategy, which just reflects that the People's Liberation Army has gradually gained an advantage in the region, and the US military can no longer I sailed freely as my own lake. As for countermeasures, if the US military wants to deploy medium-range and short-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, it can only deploy these offensive weapons at the homes of US allies and turn their ally countries into battlefields. Previously, Australia and South Korea have clearly rejected the US military. Its domestic deployment of medium-range missiles, and Japan also refused, both of them fearing countermeasures from China and Russia. Therefore, it is still difficult for the US military to deploy medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific to effectively implement the plan.For the US Marine Corps' " Guerrilla Warfare " transformation, this can be cracked by increasing reconnaissance means to enhance reconnaissance capabilities, and once discovered, it means destruction.
