By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE UNITED STATES CARRIER STRIKE Group One is currently paying a port visit in the Philippines following joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea.
Sailors stationed aboard naval ships of the Carrier Strike Group One, led by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), are spending a post-New Year holiday in the island republic following a week of maritime exercises.
The Group has recently conducted joint maritime patrols with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force, South Korean and Philippine navies in the South China Sea where six Asian states make mutually contradictory claims of territorial integrity over submerged reefs and atolls in Spratly Islands.
Accompanying USS Carl Vinson are cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59) and destroyers USS Kidd (DDG-100) and USS Sterett (DDG-104).
Chinese naval ships have shadowed those of the US and allies during joint patrols but no violence has been reported.
The Chinese and Philippine navies had earlier engaged in maritime provocations and standoffs in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, among other coral reefs.
The Carrier Strike Group One, part of the US 7th Fleet, has been sailing in the South China Sea to secure free, open, peaceful and prosperous waters as part of the Indo-Pacific region, according to Group commander Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello.
CAPTIONS:
Top: USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) sets anchors in Manila, the Philippines, yesterday, Jan. 5, 2023. Photo: US Navy
Front Page: USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) recovers aircraft during flight operations on Nov. 19, 2023. Photo: US Navy
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