Defense Department spokesman John Kirby announced Tuesday (Feb. 2) that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Nimitz carrier battle group to leave Central Command’s area of responsibility and enter the Indo-Pacific region soon.
Defense Department spokesman John Kirby announced Tuesday (Feb. 2) that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Nimitz carrier battle group to leave the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility and enter the Indo-Pacific region. Media reports say the move means countering the Chinese Communist threat will become a focus for the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, the defense secretary is negotiating a visit to the U.S. Army’s Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii.
We are a Pacific power and we have responsibilities there,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday (Feb. 2).
Austin was the commander of U.S. Central Command, and Kirby said, “He (the defense secretary) sees China (the Chinese Communist Party) as the biggest challenge in this department.
He added, “You’ve heard the defense secretary talk about how we need to pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific region.
Since Biden‘s inauguration as U.S. president, the Chinese Communist Party has frequently deployed bombers and warplanes to disturb Taiwan and sent military aircraft to provoke U.S. carriers, causing tension in the Taiwan Strait. on Jan. 22, the Chinese Communist Party passed the Maritime Police Law, which allows the maritime police to use force to deal with foreign vessels in Chinese waters, sparking a backlash from regional countries, with the Philippine presidential administration saying “international law usually prohibits countries from using force.
Two U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Deploy to Indo-Pacific Region
The USS Nimitz, whose Home port is Bremerton, Washington, will now join the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet in the region, where it will deploy for operations, training or humanitarian exercises.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command did not disclose to the Washington Examiner how long the Nimitz carrier will remain in the Indo-Pacific region, where it will need to return to its home port first at the end of its 270-day sea voyage.
The Nimitz’s withdrawal means no aircraft carrier presence in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. Kirby said Defense Secretary Austin believes the U.S. “has a strong presence in the Middle East. U.S. service members are stationed in many countries in the Persian Gulf and have sufficient air power to counter any adversary.
The deployment of the USS Nimitz to the Indo-Pacific region means two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are operating in the Pacific theater. The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group began operations in the Indo-Pacific on Dec. 23, 2020. The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is currently undergoing maintenance in Japan.
Austin plans to visit U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
A defense official confirmed to The Washington Examiner that Austin’s office is talking with Adm. Phil Davidson of the Indian Pacific Command to determine a visit to the command.
Austin told senators during his Jan. 19 Senate confirmation hearing that he wants to travel to the Indo-Pacific as soon as possible.
“I’m also very much looking forward to overhauling (relations) with allies (in the Indo-Pacific) and making sure to provide additional capabilities where feasible,” Austin told Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“When we start traveling again, the region will be my first stop, he said at the Time.
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