Chinese defense scientists have proposed a plan to target and destroy US aircraft carrier groups from a distance of 3,000 kilometers. This strategy addresses the challenge of modern warfare where distance and dispersion become key defensive and offensive elements.

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...