'Day will come soon': China threatens US of Hawaii incursion for entering South China Sea

China on Sunday launched a scathing warning at the United States for the deployment of independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16) and Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG) in the South China Sea, as it indirectly asserted that PLA warships will make an incursion in Hawaii. 

Beijing has repeatedly slammed the US' transits into the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait as provocative, calling it the biggest threat to peace and stability. Earlier yesterday, US’ Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 embarked into the South China Sea to conduct maritime operation “to uphold the free and open use of Indo-Pacific waters in support of security and stability in the region,” US Navy said in an official press release. This was the first time ever that a US carrier strike group is operating in the South China Sea with the advanced capabilities of the stealthy fighter jets F-35C Lightning II and Navy CMV-22B Osprey. 

[Credit:US Navy]

[USS Tulsa integrates with Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group during operations in the South China Sea. Credit: US Navy]

“When we deployed, we brought with us the unprecedented stealth, electronic warfare and vertical lift capabilities of the Air Wing of the Future and these platforms have delivered,” said Rear Adm. Dan Martin, commander, VINCSG. “Integrating emerging technologies to enhance capabilities and improve effectiveness has long been fundamental to strike group operations,” he asserted.

US deploys new warfighting efforts with advanced technology 

US Air Force, in a first, deployed new tools and technology of the Air Wing of the Future that includes new sets of multispectral sensors for increased lethality and survivability. “Leveraging tactics and training, we continue to establish innovative ways to use these new technologies to enhance our combined warfighting efforts,” it said. 

As China lodged a protest over the maritime military exercise in the hotly contested South China Sea, Capt. Tony Butera, VINCSG’s information warfare commander responded saying that safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific “means understanding the space, electromagnetic, and information environment along this vital international maritime highway.” He stressed that the maritime operations were conducted to enhanced the US military’s multi-domain understanding of the region so that the information warfare teams onboard the US warships “can better support the carrier strike group's overall goals of maintaining security, promoting stability, and preventing conflict.” 

US Navy also hit back at Beijing reminding that it has "upheld the standards of freedom of navigation longer than the PLA navy has existed”. The statement was fired as the USS Benfold entered disputed Paracel Islands that China claims as sovereign.  

[5th and 4th generation aircraft assigned to VINCSG. Credit: US Navy/USS Carl Vinson]