If the time goes back 10 to 20 years, the most worrying point for military fans about the PLA's "military reunification" is estimated to be that the United States has blocked the sea lanes led by the Strait of Malacca to block oil from entering China.
The Strait of Malacca is an important passage for China's seaborne energy
So when the PLA decides to "reunify by force", if the United States really carries out an oil and energy blockade against China, how should China break through?
The Chinese Navy can go head-to-head with the U.S. Navy
In fact, the US blockade of sea lanes around China can be established 10 to 20 years backwards, but it will not work after 2020.
After 2020, China has had a variety of means to deal with this blockade by the United States.
The first means is to "go head-to-head" with the United States. To blockade China's shipping lanes, the United States needs to use a powerful navy to sink China's passing merchant ships.
American fleet
But if China sends a powerful navy to escort ships around the Strait of Malacca, or if it engages in an "ocean-going decisive battle" with the United States and destroys the main force of the U.S. Navy, then the U.S. blockade of China's surrounding shipping lanes will not be established.
It is true that the United States is currently stronger than China in terms of naval strength on the surface, but this is only military strength on the surface. Compared with the US Navy, the Chinese Navy has two very important advantages.
The first is the technological superiority of warships. What many people don't know is that in fact, China's warship technology has surpassed that of the United States.
In terms of destroyer technology, when the United States launched the concept of "shield ship" 20 years ago, domestic military fans were still envious.
American shield ship
But now, China has made shield ships the price of cabbage, and even unmanned patrol boats of several hundred tons can carry a "China Aegis system".
Compared with China, the shield ship of the United States really focuses on "one ship for three generations, and the ship is still there."
Compared with China's shield ships, which have been "cabbage-turned", the United States' shield ships are not only expensive and slow to build, but also have a clear gap in technology with China's shield ships.
At present, the latest cutting-edge shield ship that the United States can build is the Burke Type 3 destroyer, and the comprehensive combat effectiveness of this warship is between China's 052C and 052D. And China has not only Type 052D destroyers, but also 055 large drives.
055 drive
The 055 drive has comprehensively surpassed the American destroyers in terms of technical level. The "next-generation destroyer" that the United States intends to produce is basically designed on the template of China's 055 drive.
In other words, the destroyers that China can mass-produce now are, in the eyes of the United States, a generation more advanced than its active destroyers.
In aircraft carrier technology, the United States has nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. However, apart from the power advantage of aircraft carriers, the United States has no obvious advantage in aircraft carrier technology compared with China.
And fighting on China's doorstep, Chinese aircraft carriers also do not need the range advantage that comes with nuclear power.
Chinese aircraft carriers
Most critically, China has a large number of anti-ship ballistic missiles in its hands.
With these missiles in hand, the US aircraft carrier battle group does not dare to approach a range of 3,000 kilometers from China.
The second advantage of the Chinese Navy is the military quality of the naval crews.
It is true that the United States has more experience in the use of aircraft carriers than China, but the problem is that with the decline of the American education system, the average military literacy of personnel in the American military system, including the Navy, is decreasing.
U.S. Navy
If China and the United States go to war, it is unknown whether the US Navy will be able to stick to its post and make correct military judgments.
Therefore, the Chinese and US navies are "going head-to-head," and China actually has a great chance of winning.
China can buy Russian oil directly
The second means is to buy industrial raw materials directly from Russia.
China and Russia are countries with highly complementary industries. China is the world's largest industrial country, while Russia has a vast territory and a lot of resources.
For the resources needed for industrial production such as oil and natural gas, Russia itself is very rich.
Therefore, China has been talking to Russia about the construction of gas pipelines and land oil corridors for a long time.
It's just that because of geopolitical problems and Russian diplomatic problems, these projects have not been implemented.
However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's economic dependence on China has become more and more serious, so now Russia has also agreed to build these projects with China.
At the most, by 2030, the natural gas pipeline and oil transportation corridor between China and Russia are estimated to be completed, and China will buy natural gas and oil directly from Russia, and the United States will not be able to cut off China's industrial raw material imports by blocking the shipping lanes.
Sino-Russian energy pipeline
In addition to Russia, the five Central Asian countries are actually major energy exporters. It's just that these five Central Asian countries were Russia's sphere of influence before, and it was inconvenient for China to do business with these countries.
However, now as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, Russia is also considering making concessions to China on the issue of the five Central Asian countries.
China plans to bypass the Strait of Malacca
The third means is to bypass the Strait of Malacca.
Since the reform and opening up, China has been planning to promote the construction of energy transportation corridors in the surrounding area.
For example, in the Indochina Peninsula, China plans to build a railway system that can connect Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and other countries.
When the railway system opens, oil to Myanmar's ports will be transported directly by train to Yunnan and then to Chinese mainland.
China-Laos Railway
Construction of this railway system has already begun. The China-Laos railway has been opened, the construction of the China-Thailand railway is in full swing, and the Vietnamese side is also negotiating with China on the construction of the railway.
According to the current plan, the railway system should be built by about 2035 at the most.
In addition to the Indochina Peninsula, there is actually an energy transportation channel under construction by China in the direction of Pakistan, that is, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
This economic corridor will not only connect China with the Middle East and Central Asia, strengthen economic ties between these regions, but also ensure China's energy security.
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Oil purchased by China from the Middle East can be unloaded directly in Pakistan after passing through the Strait of Hormuz or the Suez Canal, and then transported through Pakistan to China's Xinjiang region.
And this energy transportation corridor is quite mature and can already be used.
It is not difficult to see that after decades of continuous construction in China, there are channels around China that can transport energy. If the United States wanted to contain China from the sea, it might have been possible 20 years ago, but now it is no longer possible.
Resources:
[1] CCTV "The reporter of the main station sees the world|China-Laos-Thailand cross-border railway accelerates, and regional interconnection enters a new stage"
[2] China Energy News, "Sino-Russian Oil and Gas Cooperation Goes One Step Further"