US warships patrol South China Sea; China keeps close watch
The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier and several warships to the South China Sea to confront China, and the Chinese Navy is keeping close watch, according to a US Navy press release.
The USS John S. Stennis, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier; two guided-missile destroyers, the USS Chung-Hoon and USS Stockdale; the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay, and the supply ship USNS Rainier had been operating in the eastern part of the South China Sea since March 1, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet said in a press release on Friday.
The US Navy release said Chinese naval warships were "in the vicinity."
The Stennis' commanding officer, Captain Greg Huffman, said China has increased its naval activity near the US fleet.
"We have Chinese ships around us that we normally didn't see in my past experience," Huffman said.
However, he added that there had been no clashes between the American and Chinese ships.
"Everything I have heard over bridge-to-bridge channels has been good communications between professional mariners," he stated.
This comes amid tensions in the area following the US Navy’s so-called freedom of navigation operations in an area contested by regional countries. Washington has already angered Beijing by such naval patrols which China deems as incursions and acts of provocation.
The US accuses China of militarizing the South China Sea after reports that China deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile battery to the Paracel Islands in the region last month.
“The accusation can lead to a miscalculation of the situation,” said Fu Ying, a spokeswoman for China's National People's Congress. “If you take a look at the matter closely, it’s the US sending the most advanced aircraft and military vessels to the South China Sea.”
Washington accuses Beijing of undergoing a massive “land reclamation” program in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, and says China’s territorial claims of the man-made islands could further militarize the region.
The United States says its surveillance of China’s artificial islands indicates that Beijing has positioned weaponry on one of the islands it has built in the South China Sea.
China accuses the United States of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. Beijing says it is determined to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the South China Sea.
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