US carrier strike group back in South China Sea

The United States has sent the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson into the South China Sea in what it describes as "routine operations." The ship carries 60 aircraft including FA 18 Super Hornets and Boeing Growlers. Sailing with the 97,000-ton carrier is a guided-missile destroyer and a nuclear submarine. At this stage, the US has not formally asked Australia to send in ships but that may change if China deploys its naval and air forces in answer to US aggression.

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