According to news from the US Pacific Fleet, the USS “Reagan” and “Nimitz” aircraft carriers started the second dual-carrier exercise in the South China Sea on July 17.
This is the second time the US military’s dual aircraft carriers have conducted a military exercise in the South China Sea in just half a month. Previously, when the Chinese Navy held a military exercise in the Xisha Islands (the Paracel Islands) in early July, the US military came to show off its power.
In the past two months, the U.S. military has frequently engaged in military provocations against China, not only sending warships and planes to reconnaissance along the coast of China, but breaking into 12 nautical miles of China’s South China Sea islands and reefs.
On July 15, the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet announced that the U.S. destroyer “Ralph Johnson” (DDG 114) “passed harmlessly” within 12 nautical miles of Huayang Reef and Yongshu Reef of China on the 14th.
On the 13th, the US State Department issued a statement on China’s South China Sea issue. US Secretary of State Pompeo declared that China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea are “completely illegal”.
Chinese military expert and former Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong pointed out that since two US aircraft carrier battle groups are conducting exercises in the South China Sea at the same time, we could deduce that the United States has considered the South China Sea as a medium-threat zone and may launch a local war at any time. Entering this area, the United States usually maintains a high level of alert and is fully prepared to fight.
In a reply to a netizen’s question, Zhang claimed that compared to the first half of the year, the probability of military friction or local war between China and the United States has increased by 90%.