US officials said on Tueday (August 2) that several US warships were cruising near Taiwan amid Chinese saber-rattling over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit. Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday in spite of major political pressure from China which considers Taiwan as its own territory.
US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said nuclear power aircraft Ronald Reagan was operating in the Philippine Sea, south of Taiwan.
After Pelosi landed in Taiwan, China threatened of ‘targetted military operations’ in a statement.
Also Read | Pelosi’s Taiwan visit angers China into threatening ‘targeted’ military actions
AFP quoted an unnamed US official who said that the Ronald Reagan was accompanied by the USS Higgins, a destroyer part of its strike group.
The aircraft carrier and its group are “on a routine operation in the Western Pacific,” a US official said on condition of anonymity.
The US Navy official said that the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli was operating east of Taiwan. The Ronald Reagan and the Tripoli have latest generation F-35 fighter jets on them.
The US has conveyed China that positioning of the two ships in the region was not linked to Pelosi’s visit.
Also Read | ‘America’s solidarity with 23mn people of Taiwan more important today than ever’
Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN that Washington would make sure Pelosi had a “safe and secure visit.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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