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(CNN) – Two U.S. Navy carrier strike groups began their operations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea on Tuesday, the Biden administration’s latest demonstration of naval capabilities as it vows to stand firm against Chinese territorial claims.
The aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz and accompanying cruisers and guided missile destroyers are showing the US Navy’s ability to operate in challenging and busy environments, the US Navy said. . It’s a statement.
The two strike groups have around 120 fighter jets between them.
China claims nearly the entire 1.3 million square mile South China Sea. Since 2014, it has transformed dark reefs and sandbars into man-made, man-made islands, fortified with missiles, runways, and weapons systems, antagonizing governments with overlapping claims, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan
Beijing reacted harshly seven months ago when the United States deployed two carrier strike groups there, the first time in six years that two carriers had operated together in the South China Sea.
“The action by the United States is aimed at driving a wedge between countries, promoting the militarization of the South China Sea and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the spokesman for the South China Sea said at the time. China, Zhao Lijian.
In a speech on Thursday, Biden described China as the “most serious competitor” of the United States and outlined plans to confront “Beijing’s attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance.”
And in an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Biden said Washington was in “extreme competition” with China.
But Biden and his administration officials have vowed to work with America’s allies when it comes to countering Beijing.
“I’m not going to do it the way Trump did,” Biden said of his predecessor’s administration, which often made policy on China without consulting regional actors and organizations.
“We are going to focus on international traffic rules,” Biden told CBS.
The US Navy says it has been following international rules twice in the past week while challenging Chinese claims in the Pacific. Last Thursday, the US Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer USS John S McCain through the Taiwan Strait, which separates China from self-governing Taiwan. On Friday, the same warship sailed near the Chinese-claimed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
Friday’s so-called freedom of navigation operation near Paracels “defended the rights, freedoms and legal uses of the sea recognized in international law,” a statement from the US Navy said.
US Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, commander of Roosevelt-led Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Nine, said Tuesday’s two-carrier operation was conducted “to ensure that we are tactically adept at meeting the challenge of keeping the peace and can continue showing our partners and allies in the region that we are committed to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific. “
Since taking office on January 20, the Biden administration has reaffirmed its commitment to US allies and partners in the region, specifically letting the Philippines and Japan know that their islands also claimed by China are covered by mutual defense treaties. that force Washington to defend them.
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