US carrier fleet deployed to Philippine Sea
A US aircraft carrier is conducting maritime operations in the Philippine Sea, the body of water on the country’s northeastern side opposite the West Philippine Sea.
This was a few days after China also sent its own aircraft carrier and other vessels in the Philippine Sea, as monitored by the Philippine Navy.
The US Navy on Friday said the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG), led by its flagship carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) was in the Philippine Sea after a port visit to Guam.
The ship’s presence signaled Washington’s “commitment to a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” the US Navy said, adding that it “maintains the combat readiness to project power across the theater.”
Rapid launches
The strike group conducted day and night flight training in the Philippine Sea starting April 23, particularly for rapid launches and aircraft recovery under various scenarios.
Besides the 49-year-old USS Nimitz, which is due to be retired next year, NIMCSG also deployed destroyers under its Desron (Destroyer Squadron) 9 as well as several other squadrons and detachments under Carrier Air Wing 17.
NIMCSG operates under the 7th Fleet of the US Navy, described as the “largest forward-deployed numbered fleet [that] routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
The US Navy announced its presence in the Philippine Sea after nine vessels of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, including aircraft carrier Shandong, were spotted early last week in the same area.
The US Navy on Thursday also started conducting drills in the West Philippine Sea together with Philippine and Japanese counterparts as part of this year’s “Balikatan” joint exercises.
A highlight of the six-day war games is the sinking of a decommissioned World War II-era corvette, the BRP Miguel Malvar, on May 5.
The Miguel Malvar will be targeted as a mock enemy ship during a strike exercise off the coast of San Antonio town in Zambales, a province directly facing the West Philippine Sea.
Most decorated
In April last year, Filipino and American troops sank a China-made Philippine Navy ship, simulating an attack on an enemy vessel, off the coast of Laoag City in Ilocos Norte.
According to Capt. John Percie Alcos, the Philippine Navy spokesperson and the last commanding officer of the Miguel Malvar, the vessel was originally called the USS Brattleboro. The ship was commissioned in 1944 and later served in the Vietnam War, before it was transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1976.
The Miguel Malvar is “still the most decorated” Philippine Navy ship, said Alcos, citing its past deployments to the West Philippine Sea to challenge Chinese incursions.
A new frigate, a class FFG-06 ship—which will be the new Miguel Malvar—arrived in the country earlier this month and will patrol the West Philippine Sea after its commissioning in May.
The new 3,200-ton vessel built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries is equipped with antiship, antisubmarine and anti-aircraft capabilities.
