The Borneo Post

US aircraft carriers conduct drills in South China Sea

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TOKYO: Two US aircraft carriers have carried out drills in the South China Sea, a US Navy spokesman said Saturday, after the Pentagon expressed concerns over Chinese military exercises around a disputed archipelag­o.

The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan conducted dual carrier operations in the waterway to “support a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the spokesman said.

“These efforts support enduring US commitment­s to stand up for the right of all nations to fly, sail, and operate wherever internatio­nal law allows,” he added.

The drills came as the Pentagon said it was “concerned” about Chinese military exercises in the South China Sea, warning the manoeuvres will “further destabilis­e” the region.

China’s expanding military presence in the contested waters has worried several of its neighbours.

Washington rejects Beijing’s territoria­l claims to much of the region, including the Paracel Islands – which are often a source of tension – where China is carrying out five days of exercises until July 5.

These activities “further destabilis­e the situation” in the area claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday.

But Beijing rounded on the criticism, saying Friday that the drills were “within the scope of China’s territoria­l sovereignt­y.”

The US also regularly conducts so-called “freedom of navigation operations” in the South China Sea, with the US Navy sometimes sending warships to the Paracels.

The region is believed to have valuable oil and gas deposits.

In April, a Chinese ship rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Islands, notching up tensions between the two countries.

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