As long as the threat of ASBMs is real, there will never be US ships west of the Luzon strait. They will be operating east of the 1st island chain shielded by both ground and naval interceptors. Even if launched from Qinghai, it will still be picked up by EWR on Taiwan.
If we are going full blown hypothethical, then we can assume that each side has destroyed all targeting satellites and long range terrestrial radars of the other side. Now the only way to locate and target fleets is through picket ships and subs and airborne assets. Not unlike ww2 or early cold war 1.0. And this is a scenario that favors having carriers as they force you to fight and win the outer battle first, much like Russians had to get past the F-14 long range Phoenix missileers before they could launch 1000s of their ASCMs.
Nope you can launch launch stealth UAV like GJ 11 supplemented by mini satellite launched by KZ 11
The problem with US navy is the short legged F18
The rise of China and Russia has pushed so-called “big power warfare” to the forefront of national security concerns. China in particular has so-called anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs). These medium-range ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21 mobile missile, are designed to attack aircraft carriers. ASBMs like the DF-21D variant, because of their ballistic trajectory, fast reentry speed, and steep terminal descent angle, are difficult (but not impossible) to intercept. The DF-21D’s maximum range is about 1,100 miles. Until the Navy squares away new tactics to defend against DF-21Ds, that creates a 1,100 mile no-go zone around any location with a DF-21D, which includes pretty much all of the Chinese coastline.
In the meantime, the Navy needs a credible way to hold such ASBMs at risk using its number-one strike asset: carrier-based aircraft. The problem: the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet has a range of just over 500 miles, fully loaded with munitions to hunt ASBM launchers. That means to get the Hornets into the fight, the aircraft carrier, and all 5,000 people on board, must be in range of Chinese missiles.
