🚨Major military activity continues in the Pacific.
Updated map & new developments:
- China: 2 new military exercises underway
- First time 2 Chinese aircraft carriers operate simultaneously
- Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group enters Pacific
- 18 Russian ships pass near Japan
Militaries from the US, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, China, Russia, & North Korea are exercising & operating in the Western Pacific this weekend.
This is not being reported by the media.
I researched for hours so you can get up to speed in minutes.
2. Chinese media is reporting that the Liaoning aircraft carrier is operating in the Western Pacific, in addition to the Shandong CSG.
*If* this reporting is true, it would be the first time 2 Chinese aircraft carriers were operating in the Pacific together at the same time.
3. Carl Vinson CSG completed training in the Hawaiian Islands operating area "in preparation for an upcoming deployment."
The ships & aircraft of the CSG, led by its flagship, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), are made up of more than 5,000 Sailors & will deploy in Pacific @US7thFleet.
4. Japan's Ministry of Defense issued a press release stating that 18 Russian ships transited the Soya Strait & entered the Sea of Japan on 19-20 April.
5. The US Embassy in Thailand released a statement that the Nimitz CSG will visit Thailand from 24-29 April.
Over the past ~2 weeks, the Nimitz CSG transited from South Korea to the Eastern Coast of Taiwan, operating in the Philippine Sea before moving to the South China Sea.
6. US Air Force advanced aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, on 22 April.
Kadena is a USAF base located ~650km off the coast of China and is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highly strategic location.
7. Japan puts military on alert fearing North Korean missile launch on Saturday.
"Japan ordered its military on Saturday to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang said this week it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite."
8. Planned combined military exercises & ongoing operations continue until 28 April between:
- The US, Japan, South Korea, & Taiwan in the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, & Sea of Japan.
- The US, Philippines, & Australia in the Philippine Sea & South China Sea for #Balikatan23
- Ronald Reagan CSG forward-deployed in Yokosuka, Japan
- America Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) in Sasebo, Japan
- Makin Island ARG underway in the Philippine Sea
- USS Chung Hoon departed Subic Bay, Philippines
“If there's going to be a military conflict between the United States and China, the thinking in Washington goes, it will most likely happen if China tries to invade Taiwan. But lately tensions have escalated precariously in another part of the South China Sea-the waters off the western coast of the Philippines where an international tribunal ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights.”
- China & Russia launched large-scale military drills
- Unprecedented PLA air & naval activity around Taiwan
- PLA spy plane entered Japanese airspace (1st time since WW2)
- Philippines tracks 203 Chinese ships in the South China Sea (most ever recorded) 🧵
China & Russia began a series of joint exercises & patrols last week:
Last week, Russia launched exercise “Ocean 2024,” its largest naval drill of the post-Soviet era, alongside China in the Pacific
• 400+ warships, subs, & support vessels
• 120 aircraft & 125 UAVs
• 90,000+ troops
+ PLA Navy 4-ship surface action group & 15 aircraft
In addition to “Ocean 2024,” Russia is participating in China’s “Northern/Interaction-2024” exercise & both countries will conduct their 5th joint maritime patrol (the 2nd this year).
The large-scale military exercise will run until 16 September.
“Analysts say the joint naval and air drills are an effort by Russia and China to deepen military ties and counter increased security coordination between the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Russia wants to demonstrate that they can engage in a full-scale war with Ukraine while deploying resources to the Indo-Pacific region and China wants to show that they can deepen its relationship with Russia and cause problems in the region, primarily in the South China Sea but also around Japan,” said Stephen Nagy, a regional security expert at the International Christian University in Japan.
- Roosevelt & Lincoln carrier strike groups ordered to remain in the Middle East
- Eisenhower, Truman, & Ford sailed together in a rare multi-carrier formation
- Washington underway en route to the Indo-Pacific
- Truman deploying “later this year”
Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of Defense “ordered the presence of two Carrier Strike Groups to remain in the region.”
On 24 August, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), & USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) sailed in a “multi-carrier formation” & conducted an ordnance transfer in the Atlantic Ocean.
The F-35C Joint Strike Fighters are the world's only 5th-generation international carrier-based aircraft and a “first-day-of-the-war fighter with the capability to dominate adversaries in the air or on the surface while surviving the most formidable threat environments.”
F-35B Squadrons are deployed and operate frequently in the Middle East, but the F-35C has additional payload and fuel capacity, extended range (due to no vertical landing capability), and is catapult-launched (which requires less gas to take off).
Incredible pics — 3x U.S. Navy aircraft carriers sail in multi-carrier formation & conduct an ordinance transfer in the Atlantic Ocean 👀
Not something you see every day. @TheCVN69 @USSHARRYSTRUMAN @CVN78_GRFord
The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Atlantic Ocean with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during an ordinance transfer, Aug. 24.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) are underway in the Atlantic Ocean for an ordnance transfer between the three ships and the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12). (Source: DVIDS)
The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), sail in formation in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 24, 2024.
USS Gerald R. Ford is the flagship of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group. The aircraft carrier is underway in the Atlantic Ocean to further develop core unit capabilities and skills such as fuels certification and ammunition on-load during its basic phase of the optimized fleet response plan. (Source: DVIDS)