Soon to enter the fray in the Pacific will be the USS Theodore Roosevelt, as China has been aggressive even to armed US ships and add their constant coercion of civilian vessels in the Paracels and Malaysia.
The massive USS Theodore Roosevelt that China fears is ready to put China in place before Memorial Day, it was docked because of the coronavirus. In the absence of the aircraft carrier, China has been emboldened to harass any vessel they want to. With the return of the massive vessel, China will have a lot to handle.
One thing clear is that China began harassing when USS Carriers and ships were docked by coronavirus infections, which they took advantage off, said a Pentagon official.
China brazenly harasses without the US carrier insight
When the USS Theodore Roosevelt got docked in Guam, there have been incidents of Chinese fighter jets threatening recon craft in the South China Sea, confirmed by Reed B. Werner, in a Fox News interview.
Other threatening actions were mustered against sea vessels too.
Last month, a guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin operating in Japan, a nearby PLAN carrier group, was bold enough to harass and engage the American ship. This is was initiated by a Chinese escort ship that was part of the PLAN group.
A confrontation between the Chinese and American navies are not publicized yet. According to Werner, the aggressiveness of the PLAN is getting higher and pushing the envelope since last March.
The US government has sent their grievances over the perceived taunting, also sending it thru private channels.
Werner even mentioned sending messages to the concerned party.
Also read: Two US Warships Warned Chinese Navy to Stop Coercing an Unarmed Drilling Ship in Malaysian Waters
Chinese actions will polarize the situation in the South China Sea, especially with Beijing acting tough when other nations are pouring effect to combat the virus, Chinese is sneaking around when others are occupied.
One recent incident when the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a littoral combat ship sent to assist an oil-and-gas platform off Malaysia, in Malaysian waters that was harassed by Chinese vessels. But, when the combat ship came the Chinese vessels left immediately, showing the opportunistic character of the PLAN.
A code of conduct is under discussion between China and other Asian countries in the SCS. But the Pentagon official doubts anything that the Chinese say in the talks.
Beijing has broken a litany of pledges, and one stark example getting pushy and bullying other vessels. When Xi Jinping went to the White House in 2015, the pact was made not to fortify man-made islands in the SCS. Werner declined to comment on the matter further.
As the Chinese raze fishing grounds that are not China's, they have virtually claimed ownership of Vietnam's Paracel Island chain to the Natuna Islands close to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Werner called Beijing a presence in Southeast Asia that is causing problems.
America is sending a message to Beijing
Docking of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, the US Navy dispatched naval assets and sortied B-1 Bombers to show they mean business. Next was the USS America and the USS Bunker Hill that met up with an Australian frigate, for naval operations to counter China's military stance.
For each dispatch, the US Navy's top line warships, the Chinese blast through channel uselessly through China's missile arsenal can be a problem too. The US needs to counter this threat and it is to preserve American counterforce in the future.
Once the USS Theodore Roosevelt is sent to operation, the Chinese will think twice or thrice to harass US assets.
