Two Navy aircraft carrier strike groups are conducting operations in the disputed South China Sea amid heightened tensions over recent Chinese aerial incursions near Taiwan.
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Two Navy aircraft carrier strike groups are conducting operations in the disputed South China Sea amid heightened tensions over recent Chinese aerial incursions near Taiwan. The Navy announced Tuesday that the carrier groups led by the USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln are together practicing communications, anti-submarine warfare and air warfare drills and maritime interdiction operations in the strategic waterway that carries much of the world’s maritime commerce. The operations seek “to strengthen maritime integrated-at-sea operations and combat readiness,” the Navy said in a statement, adding that the training is being carried out in international waters and is legal under international law. The carrier exercises involve over 14,000 sailors and Marines demonstrating what officials said was the Pacific fleet’s “ability to deliver a powerful maritime force.” Earlier, the carriers conducted operations with the Japanese military in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan. During operations Tuesday, an F-35C jet crashed during a landing on the deck of the Vinson during flight operations.
