The reason behind China’s Impromptu ‘War Games’ on the Gulf of the Yellow Sea

The reason behind China’s Impromptu ‘War Games’ on the Gulf of the Yellow Sea

By E. Stanley Ukeni

A number of days ago, Reuters published an article on Chinese Air Force’s impromptu defensive drill to prepare to defend against a ‘surprise attack’ on the Korean Peninsula. The military exercises occurred just days after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.

At initial read, the publication seem benign—just another regular story about ‘troop preparedness’ military exercise, with no ulterior motive. However, upon thoughtful analysis of the why the Chinese military would have thought it necessary to conduct a military exercises, it dawned on me that there was a strategic motive for the drill.

I decided to do a bit of research into what this motive could be. The report of an impromptu military exercises within the vicinity of the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea that separates China and the Korean Peninsula—near the Bohai Sea, early on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, by an anti-aircraft defense battalion of the Chinese Air Force was announced by an official Chinese military website, www.81.cn.

The report detailed that troops from the air defense regiment converged at the location from various military bases in Central China. Upon their arrival at the designated location, the battalion immediately commenced simulated real battle scenarios of an unspecified enemy attack—in other to ensure military readiness to fend off a ‘surprise attack’ from the sea.   

The website indicated that the troop’s rapid response capabilities and its combat readiness were tested. The report also reveals that certain, undeclared weapon systems, were, for the first time, used to shoot down low-altitude targets coming over the sea. 

Although the Chinese Defense Ministry website stated, the next day, that the drills were not intended as a response to any particular crisis situation or at a country, and were part of a previously planned military maneuvers, aimed at boosting troop readiness and capability, I think there is more to the impromptu drills.

It is within the realm of possibility that, the recent missile and nuclear tests the regime in Pyongyang, which have once again brought the issue of the North Korean nuclear armament to international attention have caused increased anxiety across Chinese leadership.

The Chinese leadership may have calculated that that fact that these tests have undisputedly demonstrated that Pyongyang does indeed possess nuclear weapons, and has Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles capable of striking the United States, increases the prospect of a US led ‘surprise’ pre-emptive strike on North Korean military targets—to degrade the regime’s ability to threated the American homeland.

The Chinese military leaders probably envisage a scenario where the US military launches a ‘surprise’ large-scale offensive, with the stated aim of a limited preemptive operation to eliminate a clear and present nuclear threat to the United States, just like the Russians did during the Russo-Georgian War on August 8^th 2008, when Russia launched a surprise full-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia with the stated aim of ‘peace enforcement’ operation.

I am convinced that the Chinese leadership, deeply suspicious of what they consider as a US-backed military build-up in East Asia, was sending a message with their impromptu military maneuver that the Chinese Air Force was fully prepared to thwart any such military adventurism within their immediate sphere of influence.            

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