The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan Provider Strike Teams are conducting twin provider operations in the Philippine Sea and South China Sea,” reported Lt. Joe Jeiley, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet. “Functioning two provider strike teams in the Philippine Sea and South China Sea gives highly developed teaching prospects for our forces and presents combatant commanders with sizeable operational versatility ought to all those forces be termed upon in response to regional predicaments.
“The existence of two carriers is not in response to any political or earth events. This superior ability is a person of many methods the U.S. Navy encourages protection, steadiness, and prosperity all through the Indo-Pacific.”
“America agrees with our Southeast Asian buddies: The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) army exercise in disputed waters of the South China Sea is extremely provocative. We oppose Beijing’s unlawful claims. Period,” Secretary of Condition Mike Pompeo tweeted on Friday.
The Pentagon reported in a statement Thursday that China’s “military services exercise routines are the most recent in a extensive string of PRC actions to assert illegal maritime statements and disadvantage its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea.”
The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, and the US has extended reported Beijing has militarized the islands in the South China Sea by means of the deployment of military components and design of armed service facilities.
Officers claimed the US armed forces exercises will not be conducted close to any of the contested islands in the area.
Although the US Navy routinely operates in the region, the procedure of two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers — the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan — represents a significant present of drive and will come amid heightened tensions in between Washington and Beijing over a variety of parts, including Hong Kong.
This story has been up to date with additional details.
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