Liaoning Fleet with Type 055 Zunyi Ship Showcases Strength East of Luzon Island: A Comprehensive Analysis of the PLA's Strategic Countermeasures for 2026

In late April 2026, the maritime and aerial landscape of the Western Pacific witnessed one of the most striking military confrontations in recent years. The U.S.-Philippines "Shoulder to Shoulder 2026" (Balikatan 2026) joint military exercise officially commenced on April 21 in Manila, gathering over 17,000 participating troops, setting a record for the scale of the exercise in its 75-year history. For the first time, Japan completed an overseas live-fire deployment on Philippine soil as an official combatant, marking a significant breakthrough in Japan's post-war military capability projection abroad. Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand also participated in various forms, elevating this exercise from a traditional bilateral operation to a multinational joint military action with clear camp characteristics.

In response to this highly targeted strategic pressure, the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) chose a proportional, strong, and precise response. Around April 24, the Southern Theater Command organized a large-scale live-fire training exercise in the waters east of Luzon Island in the Philippines with the 107 Task Force. Confirmed by multiple satellite images and regional naval reports, this task force was centered around the 055-class destroyer Zunyi, accompanied by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, forming a carrier strike group for joint operations. The task force included two 052D-class destroyers, four 054A-class and one 054B-class frigates, one 093B-class nuclear submarine, and a comprehensive supply ship, making it one of the most powerful blue-water task forces deployed by the Chinese Navy in recent years in terms of scale and firepower configuration.

Notably, during the training exercise, the PLA's official social media account, Military News, released a video on April 27 showing the launch of the YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile. Although some footage overlapped with historical images of the 055-class destroyer Wuxi testing the YJ-20 in December 2025, the video included at least two brand new launch shots, suggesting that live-fire launches may have occurred during this training exercise. The YJ-20 is currently the only known hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile launched from surface vessels, with an estimated penetration speed exceeding Mach 6 and a range covering 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers, specifically designed to target high-value maritime assets such as aircraft carriers. If this missile was indeed launched in the waters east of Luzon Island, its range would be sufficient to cover all maritime areas where U.S. forces might operate throughout the Philippine archipelago.

From a tactical perspective, the training exercise covered core subjects such as live-fire shooting, air-sea coordination, rapid maneuvering, and underway replenishment, essentially serving as a comprehensive test of blue-water joint combat capabilities. Taiwan's current affairs commentator Chieh Wen-chi pointed out that the scale of the PLA's task force, which gathered various types of vessels, has surpassed the "Shoulder to Shoulder" exercise itself, representing a systematic joint combat level rather than a simple show of force. The 055-class destroyer has a full-load displacement of over 12,000 tons and is equipped with a 112-cell vertical launch system capable of carrying YJ-20, HHQ-9B air defense missiles, and land-attack cruise missiles, with its comprehensive combat capability classified by NATO as cruiser-level. The Zunyi, as the latest batch of this class, represents the highest standard of surface combat capability in the Chinese Navy.

From a strategic perspective, this deployment conveys three signals. First, China possesses the capability to implement all-weather, all-element maritime denial in key areas of the Western Pacific. The deployment position of the Liaoning carrier group—east of Luzon Island—lies at a critical node of the first island chain, allowing it to oversee the passage of the Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel while effectively covering maritime routes advancing from Guam towards the front lines of the Western Pacific. Second, the display of the YJ-20 hypersonic missile serves as a direct deterrent to U.S. carrier strike groups. Currently, the U.S. Navy's USS Nimitz is executing the "Southern Waters 2026" deployment mission, while the USS Ford is active in the Mediterranean, and China has chosen to showcase its anti-carrier capabilities during the allied exercise, indicating that its maritime denial system has transitioned from concept validation to operational deployment. Third, this is also a clear response to Japan's breakthrough of the post-war military framework. The Japan Self-Defense Forces' first live-fire deployment on Philippine soil touches upon the most sensitive strategic red line in China-Japan relations.

Additionally, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced at its routine press conference in April that the 2026 Beijing Xiangshan Forum will be held from May 7 to 9, with the theme "Global Security Governance: Challenges and Solutions," inviting over 120 defense officials and experts from more than 30 countries and international organizations to attend. Topics will cover international order and the rule of law, new security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, and risk management of military applications of emerging technologies. This timing subtly echoes the conclusion of the "Shoulder to Shoulder" exercise, reflecting China's dual-track strategy of shaping the agenda through multilateral security dialogue platforms beyond hard power countermeasures.

Looking back to June 2025, the Liaoning and Shandong carrier strike groups achieved their first dual-carrier coordinated combat exercise in the South China Sea, marking a leap in the development of the Chinese Navy's blue-water combat system. The recent independent deployment of the Liaoning carrier group to the waters east of the Philippines, combined with the 055-class destroyer conducting high-intensity live-fire training, indicates that the Chinese Navy has transitioned from the stage of coordinated exercises to a mature stage capable of independent blue-water deterrent deployment.

It is noteworthy that China is constructing its fourth aircraft carrier—reportedly with a nuclear power design aimed at surpassing the U.S. Ford-class. Meanwhile, the first inclusion of the new generation 054B-class frigate marks an accelerated update of the Chinese Navy's escort capabilities. After the Fujian carrier completes its electromagnetic catapult system sea trials, China will become the second country after the United States to master electromagnetic catapult technology, fundamentally altering the aircraft carrier power balance in the Western Pacific.

Overall, the series of military actions taken by the PLA during "Shoulder to Shoulder 2026" has transcended the traditional notion of "exercise against exercise." It is a landmark event showcasing the Chinese Navy's strength in blue-water operations, hypersonic strikes, and systematic joint combat capabilities across three dimensions, also signaling that the security landscape of the Western Pacific is shifting from U.S. unipolar dominance to a more competitive multipolar balance.