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USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) transits the East China Sea in 2013. US Navy Photo
An American guided missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island claimed by China in the South China Sea Paracel island chain, Pentagon officials confirmed to USNI News on Saturday morning. Read More
Adm. Harry B. Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet in 2014. US Navy Photo
Calling freedom of navigation “a matter of fundamental principle” to the United States, the top military officer in the Pacific said that more operations in the South China Sea not only will continue but will become more complex. Read More
hinese Sailors man the rails aboard the destroyer Qingdao (DDG 113) as they arrive in Pearl Harbor. US Navy Photo
Chinese officials claim to be on “ high alert against Japan’s attempt to poke its nose in the issue of the South China Sea,” following an interview published Sunday in which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the international community to “raise its voice” against Chinese encroachment. Read More
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
After two months, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter provided a clear explanation of an U.S. Oct. 27 South China Sea freedom of navigation operation (FON op) that both enraged China and left domestic maritime observers with lingering questions on American intentions. Read More
The following is the Dec. 22, 2015 letter from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) outlining the U.S. Oct., 27 2015 freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea. Read More
The Chinese Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer Jinan (DDG 152), top, the Jiangkai-class frigate Yiyang (FFG 548), the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87), center, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55), bottom, steam in formation during a passing exercise on Nov. 7, 2015, in the Atlantic Ocean. US Navy photo.
Three Chinese warships arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Sunday for a multiday port visit and relationship-building event, the latest in a series of goodwill visits with Western navies. Read More
Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar (left) and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (center) observe flight operations on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). US Navy Photo
ONBOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER — In a blast of rotor wash from a Marine MV-22 Osprey, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar came aboard one of the largest and most technical expressions of American power projection — a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Read More
The following is the Nov. 23, 2015 Congressional Research Service report China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
A PLAN ship operating in Africa in March of 2015. Reuters Photo
The head of U.S. Africa Command confirmed China is establishing a forward military base in Djibouti — joining French, Japanese and U.S. installations already in the country. Read More
A naval soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) views through a pair of binoculars onboard China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning as it visits a military harbour on the South China Sea. Xinhua Photo
The coral reefs on which China is building airstrips are “not just a bunch of rocks, ”but the transit point for about half of the world’s maritime containerized cargo,” Michael Green, vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Monday. Read More
