The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet announced early this morning that the Burke-class Shen Shield destroyer USS John S. McCain DDG-56 sailed through the Taiwan Strait today, making it the first Time a U.S. Navy ship has traveled through the Taiwan Strait this year. In addition, in the face of tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Sino-Indian border and the South China Sea, the three major U.S. aircraft carriers also gathered yesterday (3) in the Indo-Pacific region to address the risks and anxiety brought by the Chinese Communist Party to the Indo-Pacific region, with the obvious aim of deterring the Chinese Communist Party.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet announced through a press release that the USS McKeon sailed through the Taiwan Strait on February 4, stating that the operation was not only a routine mission, but also fulfilled the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and that the U.S. military will continue to fly, sail and operate related missions within the limits allowed by international law.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense later issued a press release stating that a U.S. combat ship (USS McKeon), sailing from north to south through the Taiwan Strait, continued southward. According to information released by the Ministry of Defense, this is the first U.S. warship to pass through the Taiwan Strait this year, with the last U.S. ship passing through the Taiwan Strait on Dec. 31 last year.
Sailors of the USS McKeon observe the sea surface from the bridge. (Photo source: taken from the official website of the U.S. Seventh Fleet)
According to media reports, the USS McKeon sailed through the Taiwan Strait with the USS Curtis Wilbur DDG-54 on Dec. 31 last year.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Nimitz carrier battle group to leave the U.S. Central Command area and enter the Indo-Pacific region, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby announced on Feb. 2.
Kirby told reporters that every decision to deploy U.S. military forces, including, of course, the deployment of resource-intensive aircraft carriers and attached battle groups, is based on a realistic assessment of the threat to the region, including air, ground and maritime forces.
Kirby said the United States, as a Pacific power, has responsibility for the region. Kirby added that Defense Secretary Austin considers China (the Chinese Communist Party) to be the greatest challenge to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Before the Nimitz carrier left for the Asia-Pacific on Feb. 2, the U.S. military announced Jan. 24 that the USS Roosevelt carrier battle group entered the South China Sea on Jan. 23 on a “routine mission” to “ensure freedom of navigation and build partnerships for maritime security. In addition, there is also the USS Reagan carrier battle group based at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan. The current situation is that the three major U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups are gathered in the Asia-Pacific region, while the Middle East region has no aircraft carrier.
In response, Kirby noted that Austin believes the United States “has a strong presence in the Middle East. The United States has a significant number of active duty military personnel stationed in many countries in the Persian Gulf, and has sufficient air power to counter any adversary.
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