president joe biden will keep a u.s naval aircraft carrier strike group in the south china sea longer
than originally planned in response to chinese missile tests and heightened aggression around
taiwan the white house announced thursday at the same time biden will postpone a previously
scheduled intercontinental ballistic missile or icbm test said a white house spokesman
the twin announcements signal an approach that seeks to raise american military vigilance
in the region while simultaneously limiting opportunities for beijing to point to any u.s
action as a provocation for increased aggression toward taiwan and neighboring countries
the aircraft carrier uss ronald reagan and her escorts will remain in the south china
sea to destroy the south china sea a little longer than originally planned to be there
national security council spokesman john kirby said at the white house thursday
the goal of these strike groups prolonged stay in the region will be to monitor the
situation he said he added that the president believed that it was the
prudent thing to do to leave her and her escort ships there for just a bit longer
the ronald reagan carrier strike group has been operating in the south china sea since the middle
of july according to the u.s military kirby said the postponement of the minuteman 3 ballistic
missile test aims to demonstrate the behavior of a responsible nuclear power by reducing the
risks of miscalculation while china engages in destabilizing military exercises around taiwan
still the united states does not expect china to scale back its aggressive actions anytime soon
we're expecting more exercises more bellicosity and rhetoric
and we're expecting more incursions into non-chinese territories he said tensions
between washington and beijing have increased significantly in the past week driven in part
by house speaker nancy pelosi's decision to visit taiwan with a delegation of congressional
democrats the white house and pentagon reportedly cautioned the powerful california lawmaker not
to make the trip when she did due to the potential for increased bilateral tensions
pelosi wrote in an op-ed that she believes china poses a grave threat to the independence of taiwan
which beijing considers a chinese province she said her trip was necessary to show american
support for democracy in taiwan and around the world but as biden tries to balance a desire to
flex american muscle in the south china sea and not provoke further actions from beijing
experts say the distinction could be lost on the chinese government
china doesn't want or need to convince itself that we're serious and parsing between serious
and provocative is like angels dancing on a pin said andrew murtha director of the china
global research center at johns hopkins school of advanced international studies
this splitting the difference exhibits precisely the confusion and incoherence that beijing
likely sees as some sort of deliberate aggressive opaque strategy he said in an interview with cnbc
if cooler heads are prevailing behind the scenes in both beijing and washington this
will be a prelude to a shift to a more sustained substantive diplomatic engagement said murtha
kirby emphasized thursday that key lines of communication between the u.s and china are open
despite the heightened tensions we're using those lines of communication
and i think you'll see that in days to come as well he said somewhat cryptically
the white house did not immediately respond to an email asking for further details on
what kirby meant china blasted a top u.s navy official friday after he criticized beijing's
increasingly aggressive actions in the south china sea saying it's america's military deployments in
the disputed waters which it called navigation bullying that could spark confrontations the
chinese embassy in manila said it strongly deplored u.s secretary of the navy carlos del
toro's remarks which were unfounded accusations against and maliciously smeared china and inflated
the china threat in an interview tuesday with the associated press while on a visit to manila
del toro underscored how beijing is encroached in sovereign waters of its asian neighbors in
violation of international law u.s military focus in the asia pacific region particularly in the
disputed south china sea would never slacken and in fact has intensified despite the war in ukraine
he said an assurance to asian allies including the philippines china is at increasingly tense
territorial spats in recent years with the philippines vietnam and malaysia in
the south china sea which china claims virtually in its entirety on historical grounds brunei and
taiwan also have claims in the contested waters washington lays no claims to the strategic waters
but has said the peaceful resolution of the disputes along with freedom of navigation and
overflight in the waterway where a bulk of world trade transits are in the u.s national interest
beijing rejected a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its claims and continues
to defy the landmark decision on a case brought up by the philippine government
del toro renewed assurances by president joe biden that the u.s would honor its obligations
under a 1951 mutual defense treaty in case philippine forces ships and aircraft come
under attack in the contested waters as president biden has said if one country violates one inch of
filipino sovereignty whether it be at sea or on shore or an offshore island we will be there to
support the filipino nation and the filipino people in every way possible del toro said
china's move to transform seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the
spratlys the most hotly contested section of the south china sea is very concerning and prompted
the u.s and other western nations to press on with freedom of navigation patrols around the
chinese claimed territories but the chinese embassy said the u.s military deployments
from half a globe away aimed to flex muscles make military provocations and create maritime
and air tensions conducting navigation bullying in the name of primo navigation
in an attempt to preserve its hegemony the us keeps intensifying power projection in this region
and deliberately seeks to widen differences and provoke tensions
the south china sea is not a hunting ground for countries outside the region still less should it
be a wrestling ground for big powers the chinese statement said we staunchly support all efforts
that are conducive to peaceful settlement and management of disputes and unequivocally reject
words and actions that aim to stoke tensions and confrontation in the region del toro told
the ap that potential aggressors in the region should learn from the current troubles of russian
president vladimir putin whose face sanctions from western nations and their allies which
also provide weapons and humanitarian support to ukrainians battling russia's invasion forces
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