[Jimbuna]

U.S. Navy Sends Convoy of Warships Through Philippine Sea as Sign of Strength Amid Taiwan Tensions

The United States Navy was seen flexing its muscles on Wednesday, January 31, when San Diego-based aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed in formation in the Philippine Sea.

Flanked by ships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and other U.S. warships, the aircraft carriers completed a force-readiness exercise that showed the two countries are committed to their allies in the region, Knewz.com has learned.

It is just another show of force by the U.S. Navy, which has had an increased presence in the Indo-Pacific, where China has threatened to invade Taiwan, and Beijing has taunted ships from the Philippines recently.

The Vinson and Roosevelt are leading an arsenal of warships, including the USS Lake Erie and USS Princeton and destroyers USS Sterett and USS Halsey. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the USNS Mercy, another San Diego-based vessel, has been operating in the Indo-Pacific.
The outlet adds that the USS Abraham Lincoln, also out of San Diego, has been operating in Southern California recently.

The Philippine Sea connects to the eastern side of the South China Sea, where Indo-Pacific tensions have been high in recent months.

As Knewz.com reported on December 18, the U.S. and China have also had rising tensions, especially in the South China Sea, where China has had confrontations with the Philippines, an ally of the U.S.

According to Newsweek, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, which states that the United States and Philippines will protect each other in the case of an external armed attack in the Pacific Area.

Biden said the United States will respond militarily if any nation attacks Filipino troops.

In fact, Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with Japan-based news magazine Nikkei Asia Review published on December 13, that "the South China Sea is the flashpoint, not Taiwan."

Romualdez also stated that there are concerns that such tensions could spark a full-blown global conflict.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...326a68ab&ei=23