Pentagon report highlights China's expanding naval presence in the Pacific, raising concerns over regional tensions and potential conflict.
The Chinese military continued to develop the capability to conduct missions in the wider Pacific Ocean as one of its aircraft carriers was deployed there for three times last year, which is a record number for it in a calendar year, the Pentagon reported on Wednesday. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China's sovereign claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of regional nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines, which are located to the west and the east of the contested waters, respectively. There have been growing confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea. These altercations have raised concerns that the United States, a longtime ally of the Philippines, could become involved in a potential conflict. In its latest report on the Chinese military power, the United States Defense Department said the Chinese navy remains the largest in the world by hull count, with over 370 ships and submarines, challenging America's naval dominance in the Western Pacific Ocean. China has two aircraft carriers in service, while a third one, CNS Fujian, is expected to be operational in the first half of next year, the report said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has the world's largest 'flattop' fleet, with 11 ships, including six that are based in the Pacific Ocean. CNS Shandong, the second Chinese aircraft carrier, conducted 'far-seas training events' in the Philippine Sea in April, September, and November last year, the report said, as China's navy increased its distant sea training in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans. The Philippine Sea is located beyond the first island chain, a north-south blockade formed by Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines under a U.S. defense concept, seeking to leverage these allied and friendly territories to contain the Chinese military in the Pacific Ocea
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