Several American ships were cruising in the Taiwan region on Tuesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in the island that Beijing considers one of its provinces, according to American military sources.
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While China announced that its army would launch “targeted military actions” in response to this visit, the American 7th fleet announced on Tuesday on Twitter that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which has been cruising in the region since the beginning of July , was in the Philippine Sea, south of Taiwan.
It is accompanied by the destroyer USS Higgins, which is part of its airborne group, said a US Navy official who requested anonymity.
The Higgins is a multirole building equipped with the Aegis combat system, which notably includes anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
The US Navy also released images of the Ronald Reagan performing maneuvers with the supply ship USS Carl Brashear on Sunday.
The aircraft carrier and its airborne group "carry out a routine mission in the western Pacific," said an American official who requested anonymity.
Separately, a Marine Corps amphibious ship, the USS Tripoli, was sailing east of Taiwan at the same time, the US Navy official said, confirming information from the United States Naval Institute (USNI ), an independent organization, but close to the US Navy.
The Ronald Reagan and the Tripoli are both carriers of the latest generation F-35 fighter jets, according to the USNI.
The Pentagon has assured that the presence of these two ships in the region was not linked to the visit of Ms. Pelosi, the highest American official to visit the island since her predecessor Newt Gingrich in 1997.
"We are obviously taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of elected members of Congress, wherever they choose to go and when" they travel, a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense said on Tuesday. .
