Bangkok: A United States nuclear powered aircraft carrier and a group of warships has been deployed to the flashpoint waters of the South China Sea.
The arrival of group led by the carrier USS John C. Stennis is seen as the latest signal to China that the US will continue to enforce freedom of navigation in the waters through which about US$5 trillion of trade is shipped each year.
The arrival of the ships came as Fu Ying, a spokeswoman for China’s parliament, accused the US of massively escalating its military level in the South China Sea, further raising tensions.“If you take a look at the matter closely, it's the US sending the most advanced aircraft and military vessels to the SCS,” she said.
The United States Navy Times reported the ‘small armada’ dispatched to the South China Sea included two destroyers, two cruisers and the Japan-based US 7th Fleet command ship Blue Ridge.
A United States Pacific Fleet spokesman played down the deployment, telling the Navy Times that US ships and planes routinely operate in the region “and have for decades”. “In 2015 alone, Pacific Fleet ships sailed about 700 combined days in the South China Sea,” he said.
But the newspaper said the deployment is a clear signal to China, which claims almost all of the region and has been developing artificial islands and installing facilities including runways, missile launchers and sophisticated radar systems.
