The United States and the Philippines conducted joint patrols in the South China Sea, however, this "joint patrol" has caused a huge response. The reason is simple, the PLA made an extraordinary statement about the cruise. When the United States and the Philippines announced the launch of a "joint patrol," that is, on January 3, China's southern theater immediately stated that everything was "under control." At the same time, the PLA also announced a two-day "routine patrol" in the waters of the South China Sea. Some people joke that the fewer words in the news, the bigger the incident. This time was no exception. China's statement this time is different in two ways.
First, the timing of the PLA's routine patrols is perfectly synchronized with that of the United States and the Philippines, which is very rare in the history of the game between China and the United States around the South China Sea. Normally, despite the confrontation between China and the United States in the South China Sea, they usually avoid each other in order to avoid escalation. It is rare for the naval and air forces of the two sides to "dance with guns and sticks" in person. In effect, China is telling the United States and the Philippines through action that the bottom line has been set and that they will weigh it up to themselves. It means something like an "ultimatum". Secondly, it is the phrase "everything is under control".
This sentence is not empty words, combined with a news at the end of last year, that is, the remote sensing 41 high-orbit satellite was officially fixed-point synchronous orbit, it is not difficult to understand its meaning. The uses of the remote sensing 41 high-orbit satellite include crop yield estimation, meteorological forecasting, land census, etc. Although the official data of the remote sensing 41 high-orbit satellite has not been officially released, and even the specific information of the launch is confidential, it is widely believed that its performance is comparable to that of the "Keyhole-12" of the United States.
In a 2016 application document involving the key project of "Earth Observation and Navigation", it was mentioned that "the resolution of geostationary orbit panchromatic imaging of the earth should not be less than 25-meter optical camera system (key technical research)". According to this standard estimate, Remote Sensing 41 should be equipped with a camera with 1 billion pixels, which can be used on the ground 2The 5-meter object shrinks to a pixel and is then transmitted back to Earth. This 2What does 5 meters mean?The advent of Remote Sensing 41 marked the fact that American aircraft carriers and carrier-based fighters could no longer escape their surveillance.
It can directly identify Conderoga-class cruisers or Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the U.S. fleet with high resolution. If the United States wishes to avoid remote sensing41 monitoring in the western Pacific, the only way is to stop dispatching** and opt for small vessels. In the past, China relied primarily on the GF-4 and GF-13 satellites to monitor US military activities in the western Pacific. The former has a resolution of 50 meters, which is enough to confirm the position of the aircraft carrier, but requires human intervention to interpret it;The latter, with a resolution of up to 15 meters, can directly identify the position of the aircraft carrier by artificial intelligence, but it is quite difficult to determine the type of American ship and the number of carrier-based aircraft on board.
With remote sensing41, not only the "joint fleet" of the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea, but even the multiple US military bases in the Western Pacific, China can keep an eye on them one by one and clearly understand the maintenance of US aircraft. This is precisely the essence of the PLA's expression of "everything under control" to the United States and the Philippines this time. China's move is actually a clear indication to the United States and the Philippines that they must not take a step beyond the thunder pool, otherwise they will be severely retaliated. It is worth mentioning that after the PLA patrolled the South China Sea, the Carl Vinson abandoned joint patrols with the Philippines.