US navy patrols Indo-Pacific for first time in three years, as US-China tensions deepen

Name: Philippine officials unveil beaching ramp on disputed South China Sea island
Uploaded: 2020-06-12T07:23:52.000Z
Duration: 1 min 17 s
Description: Philippine officials unveil beaching ramp on disputed South China Sea island

The simultaneous appearance of three warships comes as the US escalates criticism over China’s campaign to militarise human-made islands in the South China Sea

The US has been seeking to shift more resources and military assets to the region to battle what they see is Beijing’s growing economic influence and military might

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The USS Theodore Roosevelt is seen docked along Kilo Wharf of Naval Base Guam on April 3, 2020. Photo: The Pacific Daily via AP

Associated Press

Published: 3:23pm, 12 Jun 2020Updated: 9:37pm, 12 Jun 2020

For the first time in nearly three years, three US aircraft carriers are patrolling the Indo-Pacific waters, a massive show of naval force in a region roiled by spiking tensions between the United States and China and a sign that the US Navy has bounced back from the worst days of the coronavirus outbreak.

The unusual simultaneous appearance of the three warships, accompanied by Navy cruisers, destroyers, fighter jets and other aircraft, comes as the US escalates criticism of Beijing’s response to the coronavirus, its moves to impose greater control over Hong Kong and its campaign to militarise human-made islands in the South China Sea.

“There have been some indications in Chinese writings that the US was hit hard by Covid-19, that military preparedness was low, so perhaps there is an effort by the United States to signal China that it should not miscalculate,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

“The Chinese will definitely portray this as an example of US provocations, and as evidence that the US is a source of instability in the region,” she added.

01:17

Philippine officials unveil beaching ramp on disputed South China Sea island

President Donald Trump, criticised for his own handling of the coronavirus outbreak, has condemned China for what he sees as a failure to adequately warn the world about the Covid-19 threat.

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