Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

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Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

The US has stepped up its drills off China’s coast in recent years, holding multiple carrier drills as well as maintaining a constant daily presence with spy planes and patrol aircraft. Washington has presented itself as a mediator in an ongoing dispute between China and several other nations, although the US has no territory in the region.

The US and Chinese navies are both holding aircraft carrier drills in the waters off China’s coast as Washington postures as standing up to Beijing’s “aggression.”

Then on Monday, China’s Global Times reported that the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning had led a task force alongside the Type 055 cruiser Nanchang through the Miyako Strait and into the Philippine Sea before launching exercises east of Taiwan.

Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) sails in the Arabian Sea, in this U.S. Navy

The two carrier strike groups are hundreds of miles apart, but the convergence of the two nations’ naval forces highlights the growing tension in the region as the US doubles down on its diplomatic and ideological offensive to portray China as a threat to the global order.

“When someone challenges this system, be it China or others – when they do not play by or respect the rules, or try to undermine the commitments made by others, we all have reason to object,” Blinken said, accusing Beijing of “undermining this order, violating human rights and other commitments.”

Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

In this July 7, 2017, file photo, the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, sails into Hong Kong for a port call to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison’s presence in the semi-autonomous Chinese city and former British colony

Under former US President Donald Trump, the US shifted its strategic focus away from the War on Terror and toward “great power competition” with Russia and China, in particular highlighting the danger posed by the latter, which could surpass the US economically in the next decade and has a population more than four times the size of the US. However, since US President Joe Biden took office in January, he has raised the ideological appeal against China even higher, accusing Beijing of genocide in Xinjiang on spurious grounds, of crushing democracy in Hong Kong, and of aggression against Taiwan. 

The US has also looked to its other partners in the region in an attempt to win them away from Chinese influence, including the Philippines, a nation that borders the South China Sea, has large overlapping claims with China over parts of the waterway, and houses thousands of US troops via a mutual defense treaty.

Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

Close up view of fishing vessels anchored at Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls the Julian Felipe Reef, in this Maxar handout satellite image taken March 23, 2021

On Monday, Duterte’s chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, warned Beijing that the boats’ prolonged presence was unwelcome and risked hostilities that both countries would rather not pursue.”

Ben Schreer, a professor of strategic studies at Macquarie University in Sydney, to the South China Morning Post Monday that the US display of force was intended to show to Manila the US is a “reliable and capable treaty ally,” adding that the Liaoning’s drills are “a signal to Japan, the US and other powers in the region that the [Chinese navy] is gradually developing a carrier capability, though at present it’s nowhere near” achieving this.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Chinese, US Navies Hold Dueling Carrier Drills in Seas Off China’s Coast

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