The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is back in the South China Sea following a port visit to Port Klang, Malaysia. Meanwhile, the French Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the Indian Ocean, USNI News has learned.
On Friday, the Pentagon released imagery of USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) operating in the South China Sea. The strike group includes the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59) and destroyers USS Sterett (DDG-104) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110), which had previously been operating in the South China Sea before sailing up the Strait of Malacca for a scheduled port visit at Port Klang, Malaysia on Sunday and departed on Thursday.
The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group departed San Diego on Nov. 18 and is now just past the six-week mark on deployment and likely to remain on station around South-East and North East Asia given it is currently the only deployed U.S. carrier in the region with forward deployed carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) still in port at Yokosuka.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s two operational carriers CNS Liaoning (16) and CNS Shandong (17) are currently in port, with China Military Online, the official portal of the People’s Liberation Army reporting that Shandong recently completed its last maritime training mission in 2024 and returned to port. The report also stated that Shandong is ‘now capable of conducting combat missions under all-weather and complex meteorological conditions.’
On Thursday, the French CSG posted on its social media account on X, that it was now operating in the Indian Ocean.
“The French CSG is now sailing in the Indian Ocean! Its presence in this strategic zone demonstrates France’s commitment to a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific space alongside our partners,” reads the post.
#CLEMENCEAU25
The #French_CSG is now sailing in the Indian Ocean !
Its presence in this strategic zone demonstrates 🇨🇵’s commitment to a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific space alongside our partners. https://t.co/i4EK9oI3Ui— French Carrier Strike Group (@French_CSG) January 1, 2025
The French CSG had transited the Suez Canal on Dec. 23 and comprised of carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), frigate FS Forbin (D620), two FREMM class frigates, fleet oiler FS Jacques Chevallier (A725) and a nuclear-powered attack submarine. The French CSG deployed on Nov. 28, with the deployment called CLEMENCEAU 25 and taking the CSG to the Indo-Pacifc.
Prior to entering the Suez Canal, was operating in the Mediterranean with U.S. Navy destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), Italian Navy frigate ITS Virginio Fasan (F591), Hellenic Navy frigate HS Kountouriotis (F462) and Royal Moroccan Navy frigate RMNS Mohammed VI (701) integrated into the CSG as its escort.
The CSG passed through the Red Sea without conducting any operations against Houthi forces and is now headed to India to make stopovers in at Goa and Kochi from Friday onwards, according to a French Embassy in India release and subsequently carry out the France-India bilateral naval exercise Varuna 2025, “During Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, the Charles de Gaulle CSG and Indian navy ships will take part in the 42nd annual Varuna bilateral exercise. This aero-naval training aims to develop interoperability between our two navies, and to prepare crews to deal with a multi-milieu threat (air, surface, submarine) as part of a coalition,” reads the release.
