The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has departed the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture for a scheduled annual patrol of the Asia-Pacific region amid growing concerns over North Korea's nuclear arms and missile program and simmering territorial disputes in the contested South China Sea.
The Reagan, the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, departed its homeport in Yokosuka on Tuesday after technical problems reportedly delayed its departure a day earlier. The departure comes just two days after North Korea, in its latest provocation, lobbed one of its most advanced ballistic missiles to date into the Sea of Japan.
Although port visits and other operations have not been announced, the Reagan is also expected to conduct what the navy says are "routine patrols" of the disputed South China Sea — a move that is likely to unnerve Beijing.