The United States has positioned two aircraft carriers near China, including one that had been in the Middle East, as the naval rivalry between the two powers intensifies.
A U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday that the aircraft carriers USS George Washington and USS Nimitz are conducting "routine operations" within the fleet's area of operations, which covers the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
The presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the western Pacific comes as China, which operates the world's largest navy by hull count, prepares to commission its third aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian, regarded as the most advanced in the fast-growing Chinese fleet.
Facing China's expanding naval presence across the Pacific, the U.S. has homeported the George Washington in Japan, its key ally in countering China, while rotating its West Coast-based aircraft carriers, including the Nimitz, for western Pacific missions.
The U.S. aircraft carrier fleet, which has 11 vessels in service, is a visible symbol of the country's military strength and the centerpiece of its naval forces. Deploying the fleet helps deter potential adversaries from striking U.S. interests, the Navy said.
What To Know
Open-source ship-tracking data from the online service MarineTraffic shows the Nimitz sailing in the South China Sea near Singapore on a northeast course on Friday after operating in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week and transiting the Strait of Malacca.
The carrier was deployed near Iran last month, with the U.S. military maintaining a strong presence amid regional tensions following U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and Tehran's missile attacks on Israel and a major U.S. base in Qatar.
It remains unclear whether the Nimitz is heading back to Bremerton, Washington, where it departed in March for what is likely its final overseas deployment before a scheduled retirement next year. It has been in service with the Navy for 50 years.
The George Washington is scheduled to return to Yokosuka, its home port near Tokyo on Saturday for rest, replenishment and maintenance, Yokosuka's local government said. The aircraft carrier was spotted leaving Yokosuka on September 30.
According to U.S. Naval Institute News, the George Washington was in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan and south of Japan for routine operations on Tuesday. Its planned return to its home port means it will not be conducting joint operations with the Nimitz in the immediate future.
In China's southern Hainan province, located north of the South China Sea, the Fujian was spotted mooring at Yulin Naval Base in Sanya on Wednesday, satellite imagery shows. It shared the same pier with another Chinese aircraft carrier, CNS Shandong.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Third Fleet announced the deployment of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in March: "The strike group's deployment will focus on protecting security, freedom, and prosperity for the United States, our allies and partners, and demonstrating the U.S. Navy's unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."
A U.S. Navy September 24 photo caption read: "George Washington is the U.S. Navy's premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States' commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside allies and partners across the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Nimitz will extend its deployment in the western Pacific to maintain America's naval presence amid China's growing military threat.
