Four US warships, including an aircraft carrier, were deployed in waters east of Taiwan in what the US Navy called routine deployments on Tuesday, amid Chinese anger over the visit. of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the island.
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan had transited the South China Sea and was currently in the Philippine Sea, east of Taiwan and the Philippines and south of Japan, a US Navy official told Reuters.
The Japan-based Reagan is operating with a guided missile cruiser, USS Antietam, and a destroyer, USS Higgins.
“While they are able to respond to any eventuality, these are normal, routine deployments,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He said he would not comment on the precise locations of the vessels.
The official said the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli was also in the area.
Pelosi, a longtime critic of China, was due to arrive in Taipei later on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said, as the United States said it would not be intimidated by Chinese warnings against the visit.
Signs of military activity appeared on both sides of the Taiwan Strait ahead of Pelosi’s visit.
Chinese planes flew close to the median line dividing the waterway on Tuesday morning and several Chinese warships have remained close to the unofficial dividing line since Monday, a source told Reuters.
China’s defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The source said Chinese aircraft repeatedly conducted tactical moves of briefly “touching” the median line and circling back across the strait while Taiwanese aircraft were on alert nearby – a move they described as provocative.
Source: CNN Brasil
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