Mattis: China’s Island Militarization Continues

James Mattis (Getty Images)

 

Beijing’s South China Sea encroachment on agenda for meetings in Southeast Asia

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis this week voiced new U.S. opposition to China’s continued militarization of islands in the South China Sea.

“We remain highly concerned with continued militarization of features in the South China Sea,” Mattis told reporters on Monday as he traveled to Vietnam.

Mattis also said China is using predatory economics to seek control over other nations.

US Navy Resurrects Its Cold War-Era Atlantic Fleet To Counter Russia

 

In a stunning surprise, the United States Navy announced Friday that it would reactivate its Second Fleet to counter the increasing threat from Russia.

Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations, said the fleet, deactivated in 2011, could oversee roughly 6,700,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the Caribbean Sea and from the East Coast of the United States to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Our National Defense Strategy makes clear that we’re back in an era of great power competition as the security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex,” said Admiral Richardson.

Navy Does Not Rule Out Intentional Act in Latest Warship Collision

Lowe and behold, look who is the first to cast a stone in calling the U.S. Navy a hazard in the region. The aim is clearly to portray the military as incompetent in order to increase the likelihood of other nations pushing back, thus elevating regional resistance to an American presence with the end game being pushing America out of the Asia-Pacific.

 

USS McCain

 

China calls Navy ‘hazard’ in Asian waters

The Navy has not ruled out an intentional action behind the latest deadly collision between a Navy destroyer and a merchant ship, the chief of naval operations told reporters Monday.

“That’s is certainly something we are giving full consideration to but we have no indication that that’s the case—yet,” Adm. John Richardson, the CNO, said at the Pentagon.

“But we’re looking at every possibility, so we’re not leaving anything to chance,” he said.

White House tells the Pentagon to quit talking about ‘competition’ with China

(Photo Credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

 

The White House has barred Pentagon leaders from a key talking point when it comes to publicly describing the military challenges posed by China.

In February, Defense Secretary Ash Carter cited the “return to great power of competition” in the Asia-Pacific, “where China is rising.”

Similarly, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson characterized China and Russia as rivals in this “great power competition” in his maritime strategy.

Fourth breakdown in US Navy littoral combat ship

The USS Independence (LCS 2), left, and USS Coronado (LCS 4) steam in the Pacific Ocean. The two are of the Independence variant LCS. Ships of this variant are 416.8 feet in length with a beam of 103.7 feet and a displacement of 3,100 metric tons.

 

(CNN) Less than two days after the US Navy revealed a third mechanical breakdown in a year of one of its $360 million littoral combat ships, the service has announced a fourth.

The USS Coronado was on its way back to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after suffering an “engineering casualty,” a Navy statement said. It said it expected to reveal more about what happened after an inspection once the ship returned to port. The ship was heading to an independent deployment in the western Pacific when the mishap occurred. It had departed Hawaii on Friday.

Six Aircraft Carriers Underway Marks Milestone for Navy: Top Officer

As the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the Mediterranean Sea this week, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill the deployment has historic import [sic] for the Navy.

…

American warships are operating in the South China Sea, where intensifying territorial counterclaims and aggressive actions by China are responsible for heightening tension, and the Middle East, where two carriers — the Harry S. Truman and the Eisenhower — now are positioned to carry out airstrikes against targets of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

As of last week, Richardson said, the Navy had six carriers underway — a development he called “a milestone.”

China Outlines Plan for Military Buildup on Disputed Island

 

Website reveals future warship deployment to Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal

China’s plan for a new military buildup on a disputed island near the Philippines shows the future deployment of Chinese warships close to where U.S. naval forces will be stationed in the future.

Details of the militarization plan for Scarborough Shoal in the Spratly Islands were obtained by U.S. intelligence agencies over the last several months, according to defense officials.

As Russia Bombs Syria, U.S. Pulls Aircraft Carrier Out of Persian Gulf

Please see the source for the video.

 

As Russian warships rain down cruise missiles as part of its military strike in Syria, there’s now a glaring absence in the region: For the first time since 2007, the U.S. Navy has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Military officials said Thursday that they’ve pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is home to about 5,000 service members and 65 combat planes, so that it can undergo maintenance. The ship officially exited the gulf around 11 p.m. ET. The temporary measure is also the result of mandatory budget cuts.

U.S. to withdraw carrier from Gulf amid Obama budget cuts

It would be perfect timing for an Obama administration bent on Israel’s destruction to leave a two month window of opportunity open for Iran, wouldn’t it? If war breaks out, you know what happened.

 

The United States’ air strike capabilities against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) may take a serious hit this fall as the U.S. will be without an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for the first time since 2007.

Adm. John Richardson, the Obama administration’s nominee for chief of naval operations, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there will be a two-month gap this fall when the U.S. does not have a carrier in the Gulf. The U.S. will have 11 aircraft carriers when the USS Gerald Ford enters service next year.