The United States Navy has, since 1945, enforced a Pax Americana on the world’s oceans, making the seaways (mostly) safe for commercial traffic. Today, in the western Pacific, the United States Navy faces an opponent the likes of which it hasn’t faced since, again, 1945: China.
The USS Nimitz, one of the Navy’s massive force-projecting nuclear carriers, has entered the South China Sea and is conducting flight operations. The carrier is presumably accompanied by its escorting battle group, including the ships that provide air/missile defense and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) support.
China claims most of the South China Sea as territorial waters, and China is not happy with this development.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has returned to the contested South China Sea, where it is conducting flight operations under the command of the Japan-based…
