If a carrier group were escorting the ship, all that noise would make it extremely difficult to find subs.
But a LOT of help would be close at hand that could easily overpower anything the PLAN could sortie.
A single DDG alone could be overwhelmed with what the PLAN has in the area.
They would be foolish to do so...but why even take the chance when you can punctuate your insistance that free passage will be maintained with maximum force if necessary.
“all that noise would make it extremely difficult to find subs.”
Nope, we are the best in the world at prosecuting submarines. We have been training and continuously learning that warfare area since before WWI.
I wondered if China weren't trying to sneak a sub in or out of the area by surrounding our listening ship with four vessels and making as much noise as they could to prevent us from tracking their sub as it transited the area.