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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| U.S. deploys carrier to contentious South China Sea |
| 2017-02-20 |
| The United States deployed aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to patrol the increasingly contentious South China Sea, despite Beijing’s warnings not to challenge its sovereignty in the resource-rich sea. The Navy described Saturday's launch as the beginning of “routine operations” in the South China Sea. China claims most of the sea as its own, despite overlapping territorial and jurisdictional claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. Last week at a news conference, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, denounced advance news of the deployment. He added that China urged the U.S. to “refrain from challenging China’s sovereignty and security” in the sea. About 30% of global maritime trade passes through the South China Sea each year, worth $5.3 trillion, according to the U.S. Defense Department in a 2015 report. The waters are also key fishing resources and are rich in oil and natural gas reserves. The United States has taken no position on the territorial claims but has conducted periodic freedom of navigation operations near the Chinese holdings, which have triggered heated warnings from Beijing. In July, a senior Chinese admiral said such operations could end “in disaster.” Ahead of its deployment to the South China Sea, the USS Carl Vinson and other ships and aircraft from the strike group conducted training off Hawaii and Guam. "The training completed over the past few weeks has really brought the team together and improved our effectiveness and readiness as a strike group," Rear Adm. James Kilby, commander of the strike group, said in a statement. "We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region." |
| Posted by:Steve White |