In what may be the first of many to come, a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship, the USS Fort Worth, was sent to patrol the Spratly islands in the South China Sea.
The event signals a growing shift in the region, as U.S. military leaders consider using aircraft and ships to challenge the Chinese regime’s claims to territory in the disputed South China Sea.
“Routine operations like the one Fort Worth just completed in the South China Sea will be the new normal as we welcome four LCSs to the region in the coming years,” said Capt. Fred Kacher, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 7, according to a U.S. Navy report.
He said the United States will deploy multiple Littoral combat ship to Southeast Asia, which “underscores the importance of this ’region on the rise' and the value persistent presence brings.”
The deployment is related to a recent agreement between the United States and the Philippines, which gives U.S. forces access to at least eight military bases for troop rotations. Two of the bases are near the Spratly Islands.
What’s significant about the development, however, is the timing.
The USS Fort Worth returned to Subic Bay in the Philippines on May 13, just a day after a U.S. officials told Wall Street Journal they are considering using aircraft and Navy ships to contest the Chinese regime’s territorial claims around its man-made islands in the region.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter is allegedly looking at options, according to Reuters. Among the proposals is sending U.S. military vehicles within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese regime’s man-made islands in the Spratly island chain.
The move isn’t as aggressive as it sounds. The United States conducted similar operations after the Chinese regime claimed an air defense zone over the East China Sea in November 2013. The United States ignored Chinese warnings and flew two B-52 bombers over the region.
