U.S. Responds to China Military Exercises in South China Sea with Military Exercises in the Area

Navy aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and USS Reagan, conducted dual carrier operations in the South China Sea this Fourth of July, “launching fighter jets from the middle of the ocean at night”.

The United States decided to conduct these air defense and strike exercises in response to the People’s Liberation Army’s (China’s armed forces) own military exercises in the Sea.

China’s military exercises took place around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, which according to the U.S. Department of Defense are “contested waters”.

DoD is calling on China to “reduce its militarization and coercion of its neighbors in the South China Sea”. The U.S. Navy also says it will maintain a continued presence in the area as it’s USS Gabrielle Giffords “is on rotational deployment”.