'Privilege to operate with Indian Navy': US Navy issues statement on Nimitz Strike Group

Earlier in the day, the United States Navy's aircraft carrier USS Nimitz took part in a naval exercise with Indian warships amid ongoing Sino-India border dispute. Issuing an official statement, the US Navy said that opportunity to have the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group join with this fleet for a series of exercises improved interoperability and is a testimony to the flexibility of both our Navies.

"It was a privilege to operate with the Indian Navy,” said Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. “RADM Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, leads a powerful and highly skilled Fleet. The opportunity to have the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group join with his Fleet for a series of exercises improved our interoperability and is a testimony to the flexibility of both our Navies."
 

The latest naval exercise comes on the back of the US' operational deployment of the “freedom of navigation” mission in the disputed South China Sea, led by the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan. The joint naval drills send a loud message to China of a possible military alliance between India and the US.

The naval exercise will include warships, submarines, and frigates from  Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) as well as the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) headquartered at Visakhapatnam.

READ: US, Indian Navy to hold drills near Andaman and Nicobar amid tensions with China

READ: Myanmar: US-China embassies get into a war of words over South China Sea, Hong Kong

South China Sea conflict

China recently accused the United States of trying to drive a wedge between the countries in the Indo-pacific region by deliberately sending its ships to the South China Sea. During a regular press briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the US is sending ship in the contentious region to flex its muscles after two US Navy aircraft carriers arrived there.

In a significant show of force, one B-52 Stratofortress bomber participated in a maritime integration exercise with the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike groups in the South China Sea on July 5. The US Navy said that the B-52 bomber, which took off from home station in Louisiana, flew the 28-hour mission to demonstrate US Indo-Pacific Command’s commitment to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

READ: India rejects China's territorial claim over South China Sea, calls water body 'part of global commons'

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