U.S. aircraft carriers return to South China Sea amid rising tensions

By James Pearson
HANOI, July 17 (Reuters) - For the second time in two weeks,
the United States has deployed two aircraft carriers to the
South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Friday, as China and the
United States accuse each other of stoking tensions in the
region.
The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan carried out operations
and military exercises in the contested waterway between July 4
and July 6, and returned to the region on Friday, according to a
U.S. Navy statement.
"Nimitz and Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are operating in
the South China Sea, wherever international law allows, to
reinforce our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, a
rules based international order, and to our allies and partners
in the region," Rear Admiral Jim Kirk, commander of the Nimitz,
said in the statement.
The presence of the carriers was not in response to
political or world events, the statement added, but relations
between Washington and Beijing are currently strained over
everything from the new coronavirus to trade to Hong Kong.
Heated rhetoric has been on the rise in the region, where
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam challenge
China's claim to about 90% of the sea. China held military drills in the sea earlier this month,
drawing strong condemnation from both Vietnam and the
Philippines, at the same time as the two carriers first crossed
the waterway for what the U.S. Navy said were pre-planned
exercises.
The U.S. Navy says its carriers have long carried out
exercises in the Western Pacific, including in the South China
Sea, which extends for some 1,500 km (900 miles). At one point
recently, the United States had three carriers in the region.
About $3 trillion of trade passes through the South China
Sea each year. The United States accuses China of trying to
intimidate Asian neighbours who might want to exploit its
extensive oil and gas reserves.