US Navy beefs up its presence close to Taiwan, amid the heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, the strike teams of U.S. aircraft carriers Carl Vinson and Abraham Lincoln have been deployed since Sunday in the South China Sea.
The aircraft carriers are to carry out exercises which according to the announcement of the U.S. Navy will be conducted in accordance with international regulations.
The U.S. aircraft carriers were deployed in the region following reports by Taiwan of the entry of 39 Chinese aircraft – 34 fighter jets, 4 electronic warfare aircraft with one bomber into the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
China in response increased its air activity in the region with at least 50 Chinese aircraft operating near the island in the last two days.
For its part, the U.S. on Tuesday morning lifted a P-8 Poseidon aerial surveillance aircraft from Okinawa, Japan, which circled Taiwan and then passed through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China.
Local information indicates that in addition to the P-8 Poseidon, two more American aircraft flew into the area: an RC-135W Rivet Joint and a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling.
