China has no intention of fighting a war in the deep ocean against the United States but has no qualms about doing so in waters close to the Chinese mainland.
In an unusual news story, the virulently anti-American state-owned tabloid Global Times, all but spelled out China's strategy for an inevitable war with the United States.
"In the years to come, China may well be dragged into war in offshore regions, but at these distances, the role of an aircraft carrier is not decisive. Meanwhile, China has no intention to have a showdown with U.S. aircraft carriers in deep sea waters," said the story.
"China will not confront the U.S.-Japan alliance in deep sea waters, while the two shall never challenge the bottom line of China's core interests. China will deal a heavy blow to those who act wantonly in its near sea areas.
"If U.S. warships continue to patrol in sensitive South China Sea waters or close to China's coastlines, China's Liaoning can first approach the territorial waters of US allies in the Asia-Pacific. It tests the wisdom and courage of the Chinese military and strategists to utilize the Liaoning and the upcoming Chinese-made aircraft carriers.
"But China's carriers will sail further for sure. They will sail beyond the first or even the second island chain. Aircraft carriers are a tool to showcase China's determination to safeguard its maritime rights."
China's determination to fight within reach of its formidable array of anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) emplaced along its South China Sea shoreline makes for sound military logic.
China has only one operational aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning (CV-16), which is classified as a training ship by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China's second carrier, the CNS Shandong, is expected to enter service after 2020.
In contrast, the U.S. Navy has 10 Nimitiz-class nuclear powered supercarriers. Of this number, three are deployed to Asia along with their Carrier Strike Groups: the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) from the United States Third Fleet; the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) from the United States Seventh Fleet and the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).
These three carriers can muster over 240 aircraft, of which some 200 are combat proven McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 strike jets. In contrast, the Liaoning only has 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters.
But China can count on its hundreds of ASBMs to level the playing field against the U.S. Navy. The only drawback is these missiles have a range slightly in excess of 1,000 km. The DF-21D, China's alleged "carrier killer" has a maximum range of 1,450 km.