The Sino-US aircraft carrier confronted in the South China Sea, and the US aircraft carrier was forced to return to Hong Kong to rest. What happened? Why is it said that it is the end of an era?
Recently, the PLA's "Liaoning" and "Shandong" dual aircraft carrier formations entered the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea successively, and engaged in a rare confrontation with the US aircraft carrier battle groups "Nimitz" and "Washington". At this time, one thing that made the outside world feel very confused, that is, after the standoff, the USS Washington aircraft carrier immediately returned to Yokosuka Port, Japan. You know, it has only been 10 days since the USS Washington aircraft carrier left the port. It left the port from Yokosuka Port on the 25th of last month, and returned to Hong Kong on June 4th. If it were the case before, once the US aircraft carrier left the port, it would have to stay outside for at least a month before returning to Hong Kong for repair. During this period, various military exercises would be carried out with neighboring countries. But this time, I was in a hurry to return to Hong Kong after only 10 days of departure, which made people wonder if there was something wrong with the USS Washington aircraft carrier? After all, this kind of thing is too abnormal. There are various speculations about this matter. Some people believe that there is a problem with the equipment of the US aircraft carrier, because before that, the USS Washington has been maintaining the equipment at Yokosuka Port. I don’t know if the equipment has failed to be properly maintained. In addition, some people believe that there may be problems with the personnel on the aircraft carrier.
In addition to the above two guesses, some people believe that the strange behavior of the US aircraft carrier was forced to return to Hong Kong by the PLA's dual aircraft carriers. To put it bluntly, it’s just a fear. If this is the case, it can only be said that the US aircraft carrier is still a "paper tiger" after all, and on the surface they are aggressive and causing trouble around China. When the actual confrontation is actually confrontation, they immediately become timid. Originally, the US military did not have dual aircraft carriers deployed in the Asia-Pacific region. Because before that, only the US military's aircraft carrier battle group, the USS Carl Vinson was deployed in the Asia-Pacific region, and the USS Washington aircraft carrier was parked at Yokosuka Port. Later, because the USS Truman aircraft carrier was unable to support it in the Middle East, it was constantly attacked by the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. In desperation, the US military transferred the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the Middle East to cooperate with the USS Truman aircraft carrier operation, which caused a "window period" for the US military's aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific region. In order to maintain military strength in the Asia-Pacific region, the US military transferred the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, which is about to retire, to the Asia-Pacific as a facade. Later, with the USS Washington aircraft carrier being pulled out of the port, the US military has a dual aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific region. Who would have thought that the USS Washington aircraft carrier had just come out and showed its face and returned to Hong Kong in a hurry.
It is not difficult to find a problem from the above situations of US aircraft carriers, that is, the era of US aircraft carrier hegemony has completely ended. Not only the outside world believes that, but even the Americans have to admit this fact. Before this, US Vice President Vance bluntly stated in his speech that the United States was once an "unparalleled superpower", but now "the era of absolute dominance in the United States has ended." Of course, when he said these words, he did not blindly belittle the United States, but was taking the opportunity to exaggerate and hype the so-called "China threat". He pointed out that the United States is now facing "severe challenges" posed by China, Russia and other countries in various fields. It is actually not difficult to see from this that American politicians are obviously unwilling to accept the decline of American hegemony.
However, then again, the US aircraft carrier was surrounded by the PLA's dual aircraft carriers around the South China Sea, which once again proves the fact that external forces, including the United States, are trying to disrupt the South China Sea, all their movements are under the control of the PLA. The PLA's anti-siege has begun in the South China Sea. It is best for external forces such as the United States to be more obedient in the South China Sea. If you try to disrupt the South China Sea, you will want to restrain China. This clumsy trick will not work at all, and the PLA will not let it succeed.
