US aircraft carrier sent to South China Sea
AN American aircraft carrier strike group was patrolling in the South China Sea, the United States Navy said on Saturday, days after China told Washington not to challenge its sovereignty in the waterway.
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group was engaging in “routine operations in the South China Sea,” the US Navy said on its website.
The navy noted that the ships and aircraft had recently conducted exercises off Hawaii and Guam to “maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group.”
“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,” strike group commander Rear Admiral James Kilby said in the online statement.
China’s foreign ministry said ships and aircraft were allowed to operate in the area according to international law.
But China “firmly opposes any country’s attempt to undermine China’s sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight,” spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists last Wednesday, responding to reports that the Vinson was headed to the South China Sea. “We also urge the US to refrain from challenging China’s sovereignty and security and to respect regional countries’ efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
The Vinson has deployed to the South China Sea 16 times in its 35-year history, the US Navy said.
The United States has several times sent warships and planes to assert so-called “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea, sparking protests from China.
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