U.S. Third Fleet Expands As Tensions With China Rise

Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington man the rails as the ship pulls out of Hong Kong after a five-day port visit in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated November 14, 2011. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Erin Devenberg/Handout/File Photo

Reuters: U.S. Third Fleet expands East Asia role as tensions rise with China

The U.S. Navy's Third Fleet will send more ships to East Asia to operate outside its normal theater alongside the Japan-based Seventh Fleet, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a move that comes at a time of heightened tensions with China.

The Third Fleet's Pacific Surface Action Group, which includes the guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance and USS Momsen, was deployed to East Asia in April.

More Third Fleet vessels will be deployed in the region in the future, said a U.S. official who requested anonymity. He and a second official said the vessels would conduct a range of operations, but gave no details.

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WNU Editor: As I had mentioned before, this is now the new normal.