US Navy group heading for Yellow Sea in biggest show of strength near eastern China in 10 years

Local media reports say the amphibious group led by the USS America will take part in a joint exercise with South Korean forces

The US and South Korean presidents have pledged to ‘enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets’ amid rising tensions with China and the North

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The amphibious assault ship USS America can also carry fighters and take part in combined air and sea operations. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:00am, 5 Sep 2023

The United States Navy is expected to take part in its first large-scale exercises in the Yellow Sea off the coast of northern China in 10 years, a move that risks further fuelling tensions with Beijing.

A South Korean defence ministry official said a US amphibious ready group, led by the USS America, and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver would “participate in the celebration of the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Incheon during the Korean war and the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korea alliance”.

Local media, citing senior government officials, reported that the group would also take part in what will “practically be a large-scale joint amphibious operation drill between the US and South Korea” around the commemorations.

The USS America is an amphibious assault ship that can also carry vertical take-off and landing aircraft, including the F-35B stealth fighter, giving it the capacity to take part in joint air and sea operations.

The last US major operation in the Yellow Sea was in 2013, when the carrier group led by USS George Washington took part in a joint exercise.

Since then it has only sent smaller groups or single ships into the waters – which at their narrowest point separate South Korea from China by less than 230km (140 miles) – in part to avoid a backlash from Beijing.

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