According to the monitoring of the "South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness" program platform, on the evening of October 24, local time, the USS Carl-Vincent aircraft carrier battle group of the USS Carl-Vincent entered the waters of the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca. According to statistics, as of now, the US Navy aircraft carrier battle group has entered the South China Sea 9 times this year, in addition to the "Carl-Vinson" aircraft carrier, there are also "Reagan" aircraft carriers and "Roosevelt" aircraft carriers entering the waters of the South China Sea. After entering the South China Sea, the US Navy aircraft carrier engaged in illegal military operations under the guise of defending "freedom of navigation.".
According to monitoring, before entering the waters of the South China Sea, the "Carl-Vinson" aircraft carrier was active in the Waters of the Indian Ocean. The week before, the aircraft carrier Carl-Vinson and the Royal Navy's "Elizabeth" carrier, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force "Kaga" helicopter destroyer and several warships of the Indian Navy completed the tactical subjects of the second phase of the "Malabar-21" maritime joint military exercise. The joint military exercise is an important military event held by the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, and this year the United Kingdom was invited to participate.
It is reported that the "Carl-Vinson" aircraft carrier set sail from the SAN Diego Naval Base on the US mainland in early August this year and went to the Indo-Pacific Sea for a mission. Unlike previous carrier battle groups deployed in in-The-Pacific waters, the CARL-Vinson has undergone a number of upgrades after a major maintenance process, the most notable of which is the carrier-based aircraft upgrade. According to the official website of the U.S. Navy, when the "Carl-Vinson" aircraft carrier went to the Indo-Pacific sea, it carried an F-35C carrier-based aircraft squadron, which was the first time that the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier carried a five-generation stealth carrier-based aircraft deployed in the Indo-Pacific sea.
In addition to the upgrade of the carrier-based fighter, the transport aircraft carried by the ship have also been upgraded, from the previous C-2V Greyhound transport aircraft to the current MV-22 Osprey tilt rotorcraft. Compared with the "Greyhound", the aircraft has a more obvious upgrade in terms of carrying weight and transportation speed. The F-35C fifth-generation stealth carrier aircraft and the MV-22 Osprey tilt rotorcraft were on board at the same time, so that the comprehensive combat capability of the "Carl-Vinson" aircraft carrier has been strengthened as never before, making the US Navy more confident in the Indo-Pacific sea.
Analysts pointed out that the US Navy will first send aircraft carriers carrying five generations of stealth carrier-based aircraft to the Indo-Pacific sea, which shows the importance of the region in the US Navy's strategy. U.S. Navy aircraft carriers frequently enter Indo-Pacific waters, and the goal is very clear, that is, to target China. At present, as tensions between China and the United States continue, the frequency of activities of the US Navy's aircraft carrier battle group in the South China Sea is only likely to increase. Some military experts predict that in the future, the US Navy may implement a dual-carrier battle group deployment strategy in the Indo-Pacific sea.
For China, no matter how many aircraft carriers the United States deploys in the South China Sea or even in the Indo-Pacific Sea, as long as it does not infringe on China's territorial water sovereignty and does not harm China's interests, China will not interfere with the free navigation of the US Navy aircraft carrier, but if it violates China's territorial waters, the People's Liberation Army will certainly counteract.