US sending aircraft carriers to the South China Sea during Chinese drills
The United States is sending two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea to hold military exercises at the same time China is holding drills in the area.
China announced last week that it was scheduled to hold a five-day drill starting on July 1 in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.
The US Navy said in a statement on Saturday that it was sending the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz to carry out operations and exercises in the South China Sea "to support a free and open Indo-Pacific."
In its statement, the navy did not say exactly where the exercises were being conducted in the South China Sea, which extends for some 1,500 kilometres and is mostly claimed sovereignty to by Beijing.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Rear Admiral George M. Wikoff as as saying that the US Navy exercises were not a response to those being conducted by China's navy forces.
Wikoff, who is commander of the strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan, claimed the purpose of the drill was show Washington's regional allies its commitment to security and stability in the disputed waters.
“The purpose is to show an unambiguous signal to our partners and allies that we are committed to regional security and stability,” he said as quoted by the WSJ.
Earlier this week, Pentagon had criticized China for the drills, saying they were “counter-productive to efforts at easing tensions and maintaining stability” in the region.
On Friday, China dismissed concerns raised by the US about China’s presence in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said “non-regional countries” had traveled a long distance to conduct large-scale military activities in the South China Sea, stressing that provocative moves in Chinese territorial waters were the source of tensions and instability in the region.
Some of the world's main water routes, where trillions of dollars worth of good are annually transited, pass through the South China Sea.
However, parts of the South China Sea, which are said to have untapped oil and gas reserves in them, are also claimed by China's neighboring countries, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
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