No fears about China navy build-up – even after near miss, USS Ronald Reagan commander says
- Rear Admiral Karl Thomas says a close call between warships of the two navies was a rare event
- Hong Kong port call by American aircraft carrier strike group a sign that Beijing wants to ease tensions before Xi-Trump meeting at G20, analysts say
The commander of a US Navy aircraft strike group said he was “not worried” about China’s naval build-up, despite an “aggressive” near miss between vessels from the two countries in the South China Sea two months ago.
Rear Admiral Karl Thomas made the comments aboard the USS Ronald Reagan after it sailed into Hong Kong at the head of a strike group on Wednesday, following training exercises in the contested waters.
“Certainly I’m aware that other nations are also building their navies,” he said. “The good thing is that navies are able to operate around one another, it doesn’t really matter what is going on around the world, so [I’m] not worried.
“Peace and that prosperity for this region, it’s really built on freedom of the seas, it’s really built on the ability to have open trade.”
The US Navy’s port call comes as tensions between China and the United States are on the rise and after the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp was denied entry into Hong Kong waters in September.
Analysts said the approval for the port call this week showed Beijing was trying to ease tensions before a high-stakes meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump at the G20 summit at the end of the month.
