By Thai Newsroom Reporters
IN WHAT WAS SEEN as a rare maritime phenomenon, a trio of the United States’ aircraft carriers have today (Feb.2) concluded a naval exercise in waters on the upper edges of the tension-ridden South China Sea.
The US navy’s aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) have conducted the five-day naval exercise alongside Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force ships including the destroyer JS Ise (DDH-182) in the upper part of the South China Sea between Taiwan and the Philippines.
The maritime drill scheduled to end today and joined by the trio of the US Seventh Fleet aircraft carriers was primarily designed to enhance and maintain their naval operational capabilities and interoperability in support of the US’ allies in the Indo-Pacific region ranging from the Philippines in the South China Sea to Taiwan and Japan on the upper skirts of the disputed, resource-rich sea.
Taking part in the naval exercise ending today were Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters based on the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6), cruisers and destroyers escorting the gigantic trio.
The sustained tensions in the South China Sea have recently escalated between China and those US allies, including Singapore where US naval ships have occasionally paid port visits, prompting US Carrier Strike Groups to showcase their naval operational capabilities and joint combat readiness.
The Chinese Coast Guard had forced a group of Philippine fishermen to return giant clams and seashells which they had caught off Scarborough Shoal in the Spratly Islands area and chased them off.
The Chinese Coast Guard had earlier fired high-pressure water cannons at Philippine Coast Guard vessels in the vicinity of the disputed coral reef.
CAPTIONS:
Top: US Navy aircraft fly in formation during an exercise held in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31. Photo: US Navy and published by CNN
Front Page: An F/A-18E Super Hornet takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during exercises in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31. Photo: US Navy and published by CNN
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