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China-US relations: American aircraft carrier group leaves Middle East for Indo-Pacific
- USS Nimitz was stationed in Central Command amid strained US-Iran relations but nuclear talks have eased tensions
- China is strengthening its position in the Indo-Pacific and teaching PLA troops battlefield English in the event of encounters with foreign forces
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The USS Nimitz carrier strike group is heading into the Indo-Pacific region after serving an extended period in the Middle East.
The group had served more than 270 days in the Central Command and was moving into the Indo-Pacific region, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.
The Nimitz was conducting flight operations in the Arabian Sea last week. The strike group has spent the past six-months in the Middle East as tensions between Iran and Washington simmered after the US boosted its military presence from May.
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On December 31, former acting defence secretary Chris Miller ordered the strike group to head home, but the call was overturned in early January with threats from Iran around the time of the first anniversary of the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani by the US.
But tensions between Iran and the US eased as US President Joe Biden pledged to renew nuclear programme negotiations with Tehran.
The Pentagon said the departure of the Nimitz meant there was no US carrier operating in the Central Command area of operations.
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