PLA scientists propose a plan to destroy US carrier groups from 3,000km away

As the United States quietly pulls its most precious military assets away from the coasts of Asia, they are falling back to places like Guam in Micronesia, a US island territory far beyond the reach of most conventional missiles.

It sounds like a retreat but for the Chinese military it is actually a much trickier problem. In modern warfare, distance can become a shield and dispersion a weapon.

This is the puzzle a team of Chinese defence scientists has been solving. Their answer, published...