US Navy aircraft carrier USS Reagan enters South China Sea

[rent4country]

A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan has entered the South China Sea as part of a routine mission, the US Navy said, at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, which claims most of the disputed waterway.

The carrier is being accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh and the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey, the US Navy said on Tuesday.


China frequently objects to US military missions in the South China Sea, saying they do not help promote peace or stability, and the latest mission comes after China condemned the Group of Seven (G7) nations for a statement criticising Beijing over a range of issues.

“While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units,” the US Navy said.

“Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the US Navy’s routine presence in the Indo-Pacific.”


China has ramped up its military presence in the South China Sea in recent years, including building artificial islands and air bases, where it has installed missile systems and other equipment.

The South China Sea has become one of many flashpoints in the testy relationship between China and the US, with Washington rejecting what it calls unlawful territorial claims by Beijing in the resource-rich waters, which are also claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.

In a show of force against the Chinese claims, US warships have passed through the South China Sea with increasing frequency in recent years, invoking freedom of navigation rights.

US military alliances
In a related development, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin has said the country will extend a key military pact with the US, after months of negotiations between the two countries.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened in February last year to axe the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after Washington cancelled the visa of a close ally who led his internationally condemned war on drugs.

Duterte, who has cultivated closer ties with China, later reversed his decision, which analysts said could have further weakened decades of close military cooperation between Manila and Washington, DC.

It is the third time Duterte has extended the deal, which provides the legal framework for joint military exercises with the US.

“The president conveyed to us his decision to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement by another six months while he studies and both sides further address his concerns regarding particular aspects of the agreement,” Locsin said.

A foreign affairs spokeswoman said the department was waiting for details from Duterte’s office on the specific areas of concern.

Duterte’s decision also comes as China steps up incursions into Philippine waters, angering many Filipinos.

The Philippines and the US held scaled-down joint drills in April after last year’s war games were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Reagan enters South China Sea

Ship was accompanied by guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh and guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey in ‘routine mission’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[striver44]

#USNavy aircraft attached to Carrier Air Wing #CVW5 launch from #USSRonaldReagan during flight operations in the South China Sea on Monday. #CVN76 #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific
@US7thFleet

 

[vi-va]

US regime don't give a fcuk about their own people. Waste of tax dollars and sent their limited operational carrier to the semi-closed sea water.

A pure target, with only basic defense.

 

[vi-va]

Aww come on, you know the only prestige/status symbol you have among your extended family and friends in China is when you tell them how you've been colonized in the US. You have to run around with the American flag to stay relevant, lol.

No, I have the privilege to travel around the world, work in both China and US, sometime Europa.

Unlike most Americans, they don't know much of the outside world, only care about their little island.

Last time, one of my neighbor, ask me does China have cars? I told her that China sell more cars than U.S. and Japan combined each year, she was very surprised.

I hire Mexicans to clean my yards, go to Vietnam Pho to have a taste of good noodle, or go to Las Vegas to have some fun.

Life is so boring, you need to get up early, make some money and go around the world, dude.

 

[VCheng]

US regime don't give a fcuk about their own people. Waste of tax dollars and sent their limited operational carrier to the semi-closed sea water.

A pure target, with only basic defense.

Eh? Semi-closed? No.

 

[PakFactor]

No, I have the privilege to travel around the world, work in both China and US, sometime Europa.

Unlike most Americans, they don't know much of the outside world, only care about their little island.

Last time, one of my neighbor, ask me does China have cars? I told her that China sell more cars than U.S. and Japan combined each year, she was very surprised.

I hire Mexicans to clean my yards, go to Vietnam Pho to have a taste of good noodle, or go to Las Vegas to have some fun.

Life is so boring, you need to get up early, make some money and go around the world, dude.

Don't worry about him vast majority of American's are mental midgets.

 

[rent4country]

No, I have the privilege to travel around the world, work in both China and US, sometime Europa.

Unlike most Americans, they don't know much of the outside world, only care about their little island.

Last time, one of my neighbor, ask me does China have cars? I told her that China sell more cars than U.S. and Japan combined each year, she was very surprised.

I hire Mexicans to clean my yards, go to Vietnam Pho to have a taste of good noodle, or go to Las Vegas to have some fun.

Life is so boring, you need to get up early, make some money and go around the world, dude.

Aww, come on now, you know your privilege is being colonized by us and that's why you cling on to our flag. You've even told us you are in China now for the longest, but you still show our flag. We know your kind, you love to talk about how you have lots of American friends to keep that status symbol in China.

 

[VCheng]

Don't worry about him vast majority of American's are mental midgets.

If that is true, what does it say about the rest of the world when the only superpower belongs to mental midgets?

 

[F-22Raptor]

Don't worry about him vast majority of American's are mental midgets.

And yet the only superpower in the world, whose largely advanced human civilization in the last 200 years, and has over 300 Nobel Laureates in the sciences. If we’re mental midgets, what does that make you?

 

[PakFactor]

And yet the only superpower in the world, whose largely advanced human civilization in the last 200 years, and has over 300 Nobel Laureates in the sciences. If we’re mental midgets, what does that make you?

After 200 years of advancement you morons elected a fucking Orange into the highest public office.
Education and common sense are two different things, having one doesn't necessarily mean you have the other.

 

[rent4country]

After 200 years of advancement you morons elected a fucking Orange into the highest public office.
Education and common sense are two different things, having one doesn't necessarily mean you have the other.

Calling us mental midgets? well, we did not have the quality of generals and politicians you had to choose from, unfortunately - envy of the world.

 

[PakFactor]

If that is true, what does it say about the rest of the world when the only superpower belongs to mental midgets?

You and I both live in the state's and you know exactly well these morons we have to deal with at work and school. Their mental capacity from what I've seen is work all day earn 50 bucks buy $ 20 liquor, $ 12 Cigs. go home daily like this, and then wake up a month later to figure out how you going to pay the monthly rent. Having a few people at the top doesn't necessarily mean the bottom feeders are like that.

Calling us mental midgets? well, we did not have the quality of generals and politicians you had to choose from, unfortunately. Look how they advanced your country- envy of the world.

Motha Fuka you a God damn a Indian stop pretending to be butt hurt on behalf of the white's -- even the White American's aren't as painfully hurt by my comments as your curry munching *** is.

 

[Asif Mayet]

Calling us mental midgets? well, we did not have the quality of generals and politicians you had to choose from, unfortunately. Look how they advanced your country- envy of the world.

You can thank them for the 30 TRILLION Dollar debt inflicted upon the Americu--s

 

[rent4country]

You and I both live in the state's and you know exactly well these morons we have to deal with at work and school. Their mental capacity from what I've seen is work all day earn 50 bucks buy $ 20 liquor, $ 12 Cigs. go home daily like this, and then wake up a month later to figure out how you going to pay the monthly rent. Having a few people at the top doesn't necessarily mean the bottom feeders are like that.


Motha Fuka you a God damn a Indian stop pretending to be white -- even the White American's aren't as painfully hurt by my comments as your curry munching *** is.

You call us mental midgets/morons and bottom feeders- and again morons as people for voting for Trump (albeit I never did- besides the point), then get triggered into a racist rant because I said we did not have the quality bench of generals and politicians like you have had to choose from... lol

our per capita income is close to 65,000. certainly could not achieve that, if as you generalized - we make 50 dollars a day.

 

[VCheng]

You and I both live in the state's and you know exactly well these morons we have to deal with at work and school. Their mental capacity from what I've seen is work all day earn 50 bucks buy $ 20 liquor, $ 12 Cigs. go home daily like this, and then wake up a month later to figure out how you going to pay the monthly rent. Having a few people at the top doesn't necessarily mean the bottom feeders are like that.

The people you mention are only a small minority, and no more than in many other countries. You really should get around in better circles, if you can. Then you will see how the rest of society works here.

PS: Please correct your location flag.

BTW, please tell me how many countries in the world can carry out sea based carrier operations at night, to stay on topic?