The carrier strike groups of the USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ronald Reagan and USS Abraham Lincoln with B-2 stealth bomber and other escort aircraft from the US Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. (Photo/USN)
A source from the US government said a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could again be deployed to the Taiwan Strait if China establishes a second air defense identification zone (ADIZ), this time over the disputed South China Sea, to demonstrate the resolve of Washington to defend its security partner, our sister newspaper China Times reported on Apr. 29.
US aircraft carriers were sent to the Taiwan Strait between 1995 and 1996 when the People's Liberation Army threatened to attack the island as it prepared to hold its first democratic elections.
President Barack Obama said in the Philippines on Apr. 28 that the United States has no intention to surround and isolate China. Obama also said that the United States needs the assistance of China to maintain international order.
Despite these words, the American president also signed a 10-year term security agreement with President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines which allows a larger presence of US forces in the Philippines against a potential Chinese attack.
"The goal for this agreement is to build Philippine capacity to engage in training, engage in coordination, not simply to deal with issues of maritime security, but also to enhance our capabilities so that if there is a natural disaster that takes place we can respond quickly," Obama said during the joint press conference held after his meeting with Aquino, Reuters reported. The president said however that the security treaty was not signed in order to paint China as a regional threat.
This notwithstanding, some response will be taken by US forces should China expand its power into the disputed South China Sea, a source from the US government told the Wall Street Daily. These methods include the deployment of B-2 strategic bombers into the ADIZ or sending aircraft carriers into disputed maritime areas, including the East and South China seas, and also the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing toward the end of last year announced an ADIZ over the East China Sea, which covered islands at the center of a dispute between China and Japan.
