ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS

U.S. carrier's deployment to turbulent Asia could be test of Trump's China, North Korea policies

Family and friends watch as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier departs on deployment from Naval Station North Island in Coronado, California, on Thursday. | REUTERS

By Jesse Johnson
Staff Writer

Jan 10, 2017

Will the symbols of American and Chinese naval might meet in the waters of the disputed South China Sea soon? Probably not.

But the U.S. Navy's 3rd Fleet deployment of its USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group late last week to the Western Pacific has raised eyebrows in China, which itself wrapped up a much-heralded training mission there for its first carrier earlier this month.

Due to arrive sometime around the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the American deployment — the first such mission since World War II — could give the unpredictable and outspoken leader another card to play as he faces off with China.

U.S. carrier's deployment to turbulent Asia could be test of Trump's China, North Korea policies

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