Two US Navy aircraft carriers perform exercises in the South China Sea

Two US Navy aircraft carriers perform exercises in the South China Sea

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Aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz and their accompanying guided missile cruisers and destroyers are showing the ability of the U.S. Navy to operate in challenging and high-traffic environments, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

The two attack groups have about 120 combat aircraft between them.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea. Since 2014, it has turned obscure reefs and sandbanks into man-made artificial islands, fortified with missiles, runways and weapon systems – antagonizing governments with overlapping claims, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan.

“The US action is aimed at creating a division between countries, promoting the militarization of the South China Sea and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman at the time. , Zhao Lijian.

In a speech on Thursday, Biden described China as the “most serious competitor” in the United States and outlined plans to address Beijing’s “attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance”.

And in an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Biden said that Washington is in “extreme competition” with China.

But Biden and his government officials have pledged to work with US allies when it comes to fighting Beijing.

“I’m not going to do it the way Trump did it,” said Biden of the government of his predecessor, who used to make policies towards China without consulting participants and regional organizations.

“We are going to focus on international traffic rules,” Biden told CBS.

These three Pacific military conflict points can shape Biden's strategy in China
The U.S. Navy says it has followed international rules on two occasions in the past week, while challenging Chinese claims in the Pacific. Last Thursday, the United States Navy sent the guided missile destroyer USS John S McCain across the Taiwan Strait, which separates China from autonomous Taiwan. On Friday, the same warship sailed near the Paracel Islands, claimed by the Chinese, in the South China Sea.

Friday’s so-called freedom of navigation operation near Paracels “preserved the rights, freedoms and legal uses of the sea recognized by international law,” said a statement from the U.S. Navy.

Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, commander of the Carrier Strike Group Nine, led by Roosevelt, said the two aircraft carrier operation on Tuesday was carried out “to ensure that we are tactically proficient in meeting the challenge of maintaining peace and can continue to show our partners and allies in the region that we are committed to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific. “

Since taking office on January 20, the Biden government has reaffirmed its commitment to US allies and partners in the region, specifically informing the Philippines and Japan that its islands also claimed by China are covered by mutual defense treaties that oblige Washington to defend them.

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