The Biden administration carried out its third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in Asian waters since it came into power three weeks ago with two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers on Tuesday holding a show of force combat drill in the South China Sea.
The dual carrier operation was conducted by the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG 9) and the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) with its CSG 11. Altogether, more than 10 Navy warships were involved in the maneuvers.
The Navy said both CSGs carried out operations and exercises to support a free and open Indo-Pacific. It said it “conducted a multitude of exercises aimed at increasing interoperability between assets as well as command and control capabilities."
The carriers led their individual CSGs consisting of escorting destroyers, cruisers, submarines and supply ships.
“We are committed to ensuring the lawful use of the sea that all nations enjoy under international law,” said Rear Admiral James Kirk, commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
It was the second two-carrier combat exercise in the South China Sea since the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) did so in July 2020.
Tuesday's drill was the third FONOP in Asia since the Biden administration took office on January 20. It was also the most powerful given two aircraft carriers were involved.
The operation comes in the wake of tough statements by Biden, who said China will be taken to task for its excessive geopolitical ambitions. On Monday, Biden said his administration is ready for “extreme competition” against China but on its own terms. He told Americans and the world his administration intends to compete hard against China.
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| USS Nimitz |
He also said Chinese leader Xi Jinping "doesn't have a democratic ‘small D’ bone in his body.” Despite these strong words, Biden also opened the door to talks with China.
“The question is, I’ve said to him all along, that we need not have a conflict,” he pointed out.
On the same day Biden made these remarks, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) again stoked Chinese anger, this time by conducting a FONOP near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army Navy said McCain entered into what it claimed are the territorial waters of the Paracels without permission, “seriously infringing upon China’s sovereignty and security."
It was the Navy's first such operation in the South China Sea this year but the second in Asia. On February 4, McCain accomplished the Biden administration's first FONOP in Asia when it transited the Taiwan Strait separating mainland China from Taiwan in a voyage that sparked Chinese anger. (10 Feb. 2021)
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