3rd US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrives in Manila to reassure PHL, other claimants

"Peace through Strength" proclaims the welcome banner hanging from the cavernous rear section of the USS Ronald Reagan anchored within Manila Bay.

The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its flotilla of escort ships had just sailed from the area near Guam and carried out a routine patrol of the South China Sea enroute to Manila.

Claimant countries in the South China Sea have repeatedly voiced concern over the Chinese militarization of its occupied islands and features.

The US is currently under pressure to dissuade Chinese aggression in the region.

However, the USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group Commander, Rear Admiral Marc Dalton says the carrier's presence in the area sends a clear message to all stakeholders in the region

"Countries that are concerned about US commitment can look to the continued routine presence of the Ronald Reagan strike group as reassurance," says Dalton.

The USS Carl Vinson and the Reagan 's sister ship, USS Theodore Roosevelt, recently passed through the same disputed waters, making the USS Ronald Reagan the third US aircraft carrier to conduct patrols in the South China Sea this year.

The US aircraft carriers are among the most powerful military vessels in the world. The USS Ronald Reagan, for instance, carries around 70 attack and utility aircraft, not to mention the 5000 crew members or the flotilla of missle destroyers and presumed submarine escorts.

The US has around 10 aircraft carriers on the active roster, while China possesses two, with an undisclosed number still under construction.

The USS Ronald Reagan is currently the only US aircraft carrier that is based outside the US and is considered "forward deployed." This means that the Strike Group the carrier leads is often the first US response in any conflict whether as a deterrent or as fulcrum for a military offensive.

The USS Reagan's mission after the four-day port visit to Manila remains a secret.

This premium on secrecy manifested itself beforehand in the media invitation sent to journalists. The US Embassy e-mail was cryptic at best, not mentioning what the event was about save that it was related to the US military.

New Cold War?

As journalists enter the bowels of the ship, a picture of former US President Ronald Reagan, the carrier's  namesake, greets vistors transitioning from the docking area into the interior.

Reagan was the US President when the Soviet Union dissolved itself in 1991, effectively ending almost five decades of the Cold War era.

It is somewhat ironic that President Reagan's namesake is now at the forefront of what appears to be a new rivalry with China in the region.

Security analysts like Professor Rommel Banlaoi of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies believe a Cold War-type conflict may be emergng between the two superpowers.

"There is the perception among academic communities that there are indications of a Cold War happening between the United States and China because both aim to maintain their status in the international community. The US wants to retain its global leadership and China is challenging that global leadership," Banalaoi said in a phone interview. 

But Banlaoi is quick to point out that unlike the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO powers, the greater number of countries are not siding with anyone in the rivalry.

"It is a bilateral Cold War between the two unlike the Cold War of the 50's 60's and 70's. The world is hedging, they want to relate with both powers with the intention to get the best of both worlds," Banlaoi adds

Ruffling Chinese feathers

Rear Admiral Dalton clarified that the Strike Group's recent mission in the South China Sea was not a Freedom of Navigation Operations or FONOPs but a mere routine patrol.

Dalton, however, adds that FONOPs in the South China Sea will be undertaken by the US Navy in the future.

Previous correspondence by US Embassy officials stressed that US military patrols in the South China Sea were different from FONOPs because of their different objectives.

FONOPs are military maneuvers designed to challenge excessive territorial claims, deemed contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In a 2017 report to the US Congress, the US Department of Defense states:

"Some coastal States assert excessive maritime claims that, if left unchallenged, could impinge on the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all States under international law."

Banlaoi makes a distinction between FONOPs and routine patrols in his analysis of the increased US presence in the region.

"The routine patrols mean that China has military objectives in that the US is not only doing innocent passage but doing some military actions like military intelligence gathering or surveillance and other forms of military activities that will meet US objectives."

It is not unusual for Chinese military ships to shadow or follow US military vessels passing through the South China Sea.

Recent FONOPs  carried out by the US Navy near Chinese-held islands and features in the South China Sea has prompted the Chinese government to call the US actions in the area as a military provocation. — MDM, GMA News