TAIPEI (Reuters) – A group of US aircraft carriers led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas”, the US military said on Sunday, at a time when tensions between China and Taiwan increased in Washington.
The United States Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the attack group entered the South China Sea on Saturday, the same day that Taiwan reported a major incursion of Chinese bombers and fighters into its air defense identification zone in the United States. near the Silver Islands.
The American military said the aircraft carrier’s attack group was in the South China Sea, much of which is claimed by China, to carry out routine operations “to guarantee the freedom of the seas, build partnerships that promote maritime security” .
“After navigating these waters throughout my 30-year career, it is great to be in the South China Sea again, conducting routine operations, promoting the freedom of the seas and reassuring allies and partners,” Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, commander of the attack group, was quoted as saying.
“With two-thirds of world trade traveling through this very important region, it is vital that we maintain our presence and continue to promote the rule-based order that has allowed us to prosper,” said Veríssimo in a statement.
The announcement came just days after Joe Biden took office as president of the United States.
Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that “there was no doubt” that China represented the most significant challenge for the United States of any nation.
China has repeatedly complained about US Navy ships approaching Chinese-occupied islands in the South China Sea, where Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have competing claims.
Theodore Roosevelt is being accompanied by the Ticonderoga USS Bunker Hill class guided missile cruiser and Arleigh Burke USS Russell and USS John Finn class guided missile destroyers, the US statement said.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tom Hogue)