The U.S. Navy’s dual carrier battle group of the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Reagan sails in the South China Sea July 6, 2020 (Courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the transfer of the USS Nimitz carrier battle group from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific region, creating a situation where three carriers are gathered in the Indo-Pacific at the same Time and no carriers are in the Middle East. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Defense Secretary John Austin took into account the broader geostrategic situation when he approved the removal of the Nimitz carrier from Central Command’s security area of responsibility.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby hosts a Defense Department press conference on Feb. 2, 2021 (U.S. Department of Defense video screenshot)
In announcing the decision Tuesday (Feb. 2, 2021), Kirby said, “Every decision we make to deploy military forces, including air, ground and maritime forces, and that includes, of course, the deployment of resource-intensive aircraft carriers and attached battle groups, is based on a candid assessment of regional threats.”
Aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt on duty in the Philippine Sea (USN 2020, Feb. 29)
A little more than a week ago, on Jan. 24, the U.S. military announced that a U.S. carrier battle group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt, entered the South China Sea to advance “freedom of the seas” and maintain peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition, the USS Reagan aircraft carrier continues to be based at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, creating a situation where three U.S. aircraft carriers are operating simultaneously in the Indo-Pacific region.
Following the inauguration of the new Biden administration on Jan. 20, Chinese military aircraft stepped up their close flights to Taiwan, saying they were a “solemn warning” to “external forces. At the same time, Beijing passed a so-called “maritime police law” that authorizes the Chinese maritime police to “use weapons to stop foreign organizations and individuals from infringing on national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction at sea.
These moves by Beijing are seen as a test of the new Biden Administration‘s commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific region.
So far, Biden administration officials have demonstrated a firm stance to meet the Chinese challenge with U.S. own strength and joint allied forces. Newly appointed Defense Secretary Austin has spoken with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and made clear that the Senkaku Islands fall under Article V of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and that the United States continues to oppose any attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo in the East China Sea.
Beijing calls the Senkaku Islands sovereign Diaoyu Islands, and regularly sends government ships and aircraft into the waters and airspace around the islands.
Just one day into his tenure, new Secretary of State Blinken spoke with Philippine Foreign Minister Rodrigo Lochin and emphasized the clear applicability of the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty in the event of an armed attack on the Armed Forces of the Philippines, government ships and aircraft in the Pacific. This includes the South China Sea, he said.
Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo in charge of foreign affairs, said Monday that China is willing to work with the United States to promote bilateral relations along a track of non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, but warned the United States that issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, which involve China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, are “off-limits.
We will confront aggressive, coercive actions by the Chinese Communist Party, secure our critical military advantage, defend democratic values, invest in research and development of advanced technologies, and restore vital security partnerships,” State Department spokesman Price said Tuesday in response.
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