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| The US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson passes through the Surigao Strait on December 22. (Source: US Navy) |
Newsweek magazine reported that on December 23, the US 7th Fleet, in charge of operations in the Western Pacific region, confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group, including the cruiser USS Princeton and two destroyers USS Sterett and USS William P. Lawrence, had passed through the Surigao Strait, east of the South China Sea, in formation.
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The Carl Vinson is expected to remain in the Western Pacific, while another US Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, arrived in the Middle East last week to protect shipping in the Red Sea from threats from Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
In addition to the Carl Vinson, the US Navy has a second aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, stationed in the Western Pacific. This ship is on its second deployment to Japan and is still docked in the Greater Tokyo area as of December 24.
This is the second time the US military has sent one of its 11 aircraft carriers to the South China Sea since early December. The most recent time, on December 1, the USS Abraham Lincoln passed through the South China Sea on its way back from the Middle East. The ship returned to port in San Diego, California on December 22.
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