Pression militaire US accrue sur la Chine, sur fond de tension croissante.

[JacquesL]

US intensifies military pressure on China amid growing tensions
Pression militaire US accrue sur la Chine, sur fond de tension croissante

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-intensifies-military-pressure-on-china-amid-growing-tensions/


D'après le site allemand, navysite.de, ce navire serait le USS Higgins.

Washington is intensifying its military pressure on Beijing amid growing tensions over the South China Sea as the White House accuses Chinese authorities of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic in order to strengthen their regional clout.

US Navy Captain Michael Kafka, a spokesperson for the American military's Indo-Pacific Command, told CNN that "the People's Republic of China is attempting to use the regional focus on COVID [-19] to assertively advance its own interests".

On the South China Sea, Kafka pledged that the US would continue to conduct a "global Freedom of Navigation operations programme in which US Navy ships safely and professionally challenge excessive maritime claims, including those" in the area.

He recalled that the US is also going ahead with "routine transits through the Taiwan Strait to further demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate anywhere that international law allows".

The statement was made as a Pentagon official underlined that the coronavirus outbreak would not prevent the US military from responding to Chinese actions.

"We have the capability and capacity to provide long range fires anywhere, anytime and can bring overwhelming firepower, even during the pandemic", according to General Timothy Ray, commander of the Air Force Global Strike command which oversees the bomber force in the area.

The US Navy Pacific Fleet, in turn, announced on Wednesday that all of its submarines in the area were at sea to carry out operations "in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region amidst the pandemic caused by the coronavirus".
This was echoed by Pentagon spokesman Dave Eastburn who told CNN that the US Department of Defence is concerned over China's "increasing, opportunistic activity to coerce its neighbours and press its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, while the region and the world is focused on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic".

The view was backed by Admiral John Aquilino, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, who underscored the American military's adherence to "a rules-based order in the South China Sea" and determination to "continue to champion freedom of the seas and the rule of law".
Li Huamin, spokesperson for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command, responded by urging the US to concentrate on "its own business with pandemic prevention and control, make more contributions to the global fight against COVID-19, and immediately stop military operations that are detrimental to regional security, peace, and stability".

The remarks were preceded by the US Air Force (USAF) saying in a statement late last month that two USAF B-1B Lancer bombers had made a 32-hour round-trip flight from South Dakota "to conduct operations over the South China Sea" as part of a bomber task force mission.

"This operation demonstrates the US Air Force's dynamic force employment model in line with the National Defence Strategy's objectives of strategic predictability with persistent bomber presence, assuring allies and partners", the statement pointed out at the time.

Source: Sputnik

Washington intensifie sa pression militaire sur Beijing dans le contexte de tensions croissantes sur le sud de la Mer de Chine, tandis que la Maison Blanche accuse les autorités chinoises d'exploiter la pandémie au coronavirus pour renforcer leur influence régionale.
Le capitaine Michael Kafka, de l'US Navy, porte-parole du commandement militaire indo-Pacifique, a déclaré à CNN que "la République Populaire de Chine cherche à utiliser le centrage d'attention sur le COVID-19 pour pousser de l'avant ses propres intérêts".
Sur le Sud de la Mer de Chine, Kafka assure que les U.S.A. continueront à conduire  "un programme global de liberté des mers dans lequel la flotte U.S. défiera toute revendication maritime excessive, y compris ces chinoises dans cette région".