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U.S., Philippines share concerns over Chinese vessels in S. China Sea
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Thursday expressed shared concerns over the massing of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, the U.S. State Department said.
The U.S. Navy s 7th Fleet said the same day that its aircraft and ships, such as the nuclear-powered Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, conducted exercises in the South China Sea on Friday local time in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Photo taken March 7, 2021, shows Chinese fishing vessels near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine government)(Kyodo)
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The United States has further stepped up its military presence in the South China Sea, reportedly sending an amphibious assault vessel to the disputed waters amid heightened tensions in the region.
Satellite data showed that the USS Makin Island amphibious-ready group (ARG) travelled through the Strait of Malacca into the contentious waters from late on Wednesday until the early hours of Thursday, according to the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI). The group included amphibious assault ship the USS Makin Island and the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego, the think tank said.
Sailors on the USS Makin Island were conducting “a live-fire training exercise”, the US Indo-Pacific Command tweeted on Thursday, along with a hashtag calling for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
The Navy described the activities as coordinated strike groups of ships and aircraft carrying out exercises “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The exercises of the expeditionary strike force included tactical maneuvering and working out joint command, control and communications of the Navy and Marine forces, the Navy said.
The strike groups include a squadron of MV-22 tilt-rotor transports and some 2,200 Marines of the 15th Marines Expeditionary Unit, an air-ground task force used for rapid-response military operations.
Navy and Marine Corps spokesmen would not say whether Chinese warships or aircraft monitored the operations or tried to disrupt the exercises.
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Home » Budget Industry » U.S. Carrier Strike Group, Amphibious Warships Massed in South China Sea as Regional Tensions Simmer
U.S. Carrier Strike Group, Amphibious Warships Massed in South China Sea as Regional Tensions Simmer
April 10, 2021 8:46 AM
USS Makin Island (LHD-8) and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transit the South China Sea on April 9, 2021. US Navy Photo
A U.S. carrier strike group and amphibious ready group are in the South China Sea as tensions increase between Manila and Beijing over a Chinese maritime militia incursion into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the Navy announced on Friday.