Why a US aircraft carrier’s voyage to the Middle East is causing ripples around Taiwan

Name: US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea
Uploaded: 2025-06-21T04:00:20.000Z
Duration: 1 min 16 s
Description: US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea

Taiwan depends on US military presence to act as a bulwark against Beijing, but America may find itself stretched in a volatile world

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Fighter jets take off from the flight deck of the USS Nimitz in the South China Sea on June 5. The warship has been redirected to the Middle East, where Israel and Iran are engaged in their worst hostilities in decades. Photo: Handout

Hayley Wongin Beijing

Published: 12:00pm, 21 Jun 2025Updated: 3:11pm, 21 Jun 2025

The Pentagon has diverted an aircraft carrier strike group from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, marking the US Navy’s fourth such manoeuvre in less than a year and prompting words of caution in Taiwan.

Analysts said the United States would need to look at ways to balance immediate operational needs in the Middle East with long-term strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, as fluctuating and prolonged conflicts made greater demands on American military resources.

According to media reports, the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz halted operations in the South China Sea on Monday to sail to the Middle East to support the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group.

The carrier cancelled plans to dock in Vietnam this week, Reuters reported on Monday citing sources, one of whom said the US embassy in Hanoi had mentioned “an emergent operational requirement”.

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US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea

The redeployment comes as arch-enemies Israel and Iran are engaged in their worst hostilities in decades.

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