According to a report released by the US Navy on March 15, this country’s warships each year made 10 trips to close to artificial islands illegally built by China in the East Sea in the period 2019-2020, an increase of 10 times.
The US Navy’s increased moves reflect the tough stance of President Donald Trump’s administration towards China, and show that the Pentagon has increased its efforts to deal with Beijing’s expansion of its military presence,
Campaigns to send warships close to artificial islands illegally built by China in the East Sea and passing through the Taiwan Strait are considered to be the US military’s way of dealing with China’s unjustified claims of sovereignty in these areas.
F/A-18E fighter trains to land on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during a joint exercise with the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the East Sea, July 2020.
The increased activity of US warships in the Pacific region under Trump raises questions about the action plan of President Joe Biden’s administration, while Washington wants to increase access to countries in the region.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are traveling to Asia to strengthen relations with allies.
The US Navy’s destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Russell in February approached the Hoang Sa archipelago and Chinese entities illegally occupying the Truong Sa archipelago under Vietnamese sovereignty.
China claims unreasonable sovereignty over most of the East Sea area, illegally accreting and building military facilities on entities in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.
When asked about the activities of US warships around the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam `wants countries to continue to actively contribute to maintaining peace.`
`The activities of all countries in the East Sea need to contribute to this common goal. As a responsible member of the international community and a member of UNCLOS, Vietnam complies with the provisions of the Convention, including
East Sea area.
In addition to the East Sea, the Taiwan Strait is an area where US warships have increased their activities in recent years, despite China calling this `provocative behavior`.
The number of times US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait increased since the last two years of former President Barack Obama’s term, when his administration `pivoted` to Asia after many years of focusing on wars in the Middle East.
During the first two years of Trump’s term, US warships only passed through the Taiwan Strait a few times, but the number of passes through this area increased to 9 in 2019 and 13 in 2020. US warships sailed twice this year.
Olivia