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Strategic Vision vol. 11, no. 53 (September, 2022)
Distant Sea Training PLAAF harassment made possibly by shifts in training, operational concepts Ying Yu Lin
photo: Yin Wenbo & Li Cunyong A Y-8 transport aircraft of the PLA Air Force takes off from a military airfield on February 23, 2018.
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hinese military aircraft made 446 incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in August 2022, according to media reports. This number is far higher than the number of incursions that took place during the whole of 2020. The political goal appears to be to normalize Chinese presence so close to the median line, and to inch closer to Taiwan itself in small enough steps that each falls short of a cause for war. In short, the same sort of salami-slice strategy that earned Beijing control over the South China Sea while the world looked on. To make it feasible for use in the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese military had to develop new capabilities and operational concepts. This article will examine the development of those concepts over the past few years and the challenge they pose
to defense planners in Taiwan. In early 2015, the term “Distant Sea Training” saw an uptick in use in military and strategic circles in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It refers to what was then a new type of flight training for People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pilots, involving sorties flown especially by Xian H-6K strategic bombers to areas in the Western Pacific beyond the first island chain. Such training, not being geographically confined to certain areas, was orientated toward helping the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) hone its tactical maneuvers specific to a new battle space. The most recent round of military reform initiated in 2016 saw the emergence of a new guiding principle wherein theater commands are responsible for operations and service. Following this, the five newly
Dr. Ying Yu Lin is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan. He also is a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight.