Alwaght- Amid recent increase in US-China tensions in South China Sea, Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier to patrol the region.
The U.S. navy said the force, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, began routine operations in the South China Sea on Saturday. The announcement was posted on the Vinson's Facebook page.
The strike group's commander, Rear Admiral James Kilby, said that weeks of training in the Pacific had improved the group's effectiveness and readiness.
The tensions have increased between US and China over a waterway in the region and many believe it could be a flashpoint under the new US administration.
China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea.
China wrapped up its own naval exercises in the South China Sea on Friday. War games involving its own aircraft carrier have unnerved neighbors with which it has long-running territorial disputes.
China lays claim to almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the waters that command strategic sea lanes and have rich fishing grounds, along with oil and gas deposits.
