As the commanders of the largest U.S. warship in Asia seek to maintain operational readiness amid protracted tensions over North Korea, they find themselves keeping one eye on China, too.
On Saturday, as F-18 Super Hornet jet fighters roared from the decks of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier during routine drills deep in the South China Sea, two Chinese frigates maintained a constant line-of-sight vigil.
Officers on the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based Reagan described frequent close-quarter surveillance from the ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy in international waters.