China-US relations: as world watches Ukraine, navy missions in the Pacific quietly raise tension
- In May, China and Japan engaged in an implicit tussle in the Western Pacific and four US naval vessels were also present in the region
- Larger warships are being deployed to the Pacific, a probable theatre of operations should war break out between the US and China, say military observers
Tensions have quietly increased in the Western Pacific as China ventures into the waters while the world’s attention is on the Ukraine crisis.
China’s deployment prompted Japan to scramble fighter jets and send its ship Izumo, which has been modified to become a de facto aircraft carrier, to follow and monitor the Liaoning’s exercises.
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An image dated May 16 from USNI News showed the US amphibious assault ship America deployed near the Japanese city of Sasebo, another assault ship USS Tripoli in waters east of Japan and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln sailing in the Philippine Sea.
The nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan returned to Yokosuka on Thursday, according to Mizar Vision, which released a satellite image on the company’s official Weibo account the same day.
In addition to warship movements, busy military operations were observed in the air.
A US Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft was seen operating on a mission over the Philippine Sea on May 16. The South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on its official Twitter account on Monday that the aircraft was “probably targeting at PLAN Liaoning carrier formation” and included a flight path image.