U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers, and the 7th Fleet flagship have been conducting naval patrols and have sailed near the disputed waters in the past days, according to USA military officials.
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The deployment of the group, along with thousands of U.S. sailors, comes as the Japan- based USS Antietam cruiser is also patrolling the South China Sea.
A write-up on Friday, related to the proposed Malabar exercise, in the state-run Global Times quoted a South China Sea expert as saying that by participating in the exercise, Japan would like “to relieve the pressure from disputes with China in the East China Sea”, while India’s takeaway was its interest in raising its profile in Southeast Asia.
CBS actually sent its own boat out for a peek at the disputed islands, which correspondent Seth Doane described as resembling “a city in the middle of the sea”, complete with “surface-to-air missile batteries” and “military-grade airfields”.
With the rising tension in the South China Sea, he disclosed that the US Navy is planning to visit China and hold a dialogue with its Chinese counterparts towards the latter part of this year even as it vows to conduct freedom of navigation operations to ensure security and stability in the region.
‘Talking about militarization, if we look at those advanced ships and aircraft going in and out of the South China Sea, aren’t a lot of them are from the US?
A group of US Navy ships arrived to the South China Sea on 3 March.
“China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea”, Carter said during a speech in San Francisco Tuesday. “You’d have to believe in a flat earth to believe otherwise”, he said.
The move led Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, to tell lawmakers in February that China is “militarizing” the South China Sea.
Stockdale is now on patrol in 7th Fleet as part of the John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG). And the U.S. has made the decision to deploy over 50% of the U.S. Navy to the Asia-Pacific region as a part of their pivot to the region,”The U.S.is strengthening military deployments with its alliances in the Asia-Pacific region”.
Amid the territorial wranglings, the USA had sent warships to test “freedom of navigation operations” in the region, and called for a freeze on China’s construction in the islands. The ships sailed into the South China Sea sometime on March 3rd or early March 4th. “If America cares about the peace and stability in the region, please support China to solve the disputes through negotiations, instead of pushing it to the opposite side”.
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In the opaque world of Chinese politics, issues raised at the National People’s Congress offer a peek at what China’s leaders have in store – and it gets plenty of coverage.
