Several US ships are sailing in the Taiwan area

Several US ships are sailing in the Taiwan region on Tuesday with the arrival of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the island that Beijing considers one of its provinces, according to US military sources.

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While China announced that its military would launch “meaningful military operations” in response to the visit, the US Seventh Fleet announced Tuesday on Twitter that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which has been sailing in the area since the beginning of July, was in the Philippine Sea, south of Taiwan. .

A US Navy official, who asked not to be named, said the ship is accompanied by the destroyer USS Higgins, part of its airborne group.

Higgins is a multi-role building equipped with the Aegis combat system, which specifically includes anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.

The US Navy also released photos of Ronald Reagan maneuvering with the supply ship USS Carl Brashear on Sunday.

A US official, who asked not to be named, said the aircraft carrier and its airborne group were “carrying out a routine mission in the Western Pacific.”

Separately, a US Marines amphibious ship, the USS Tripoli, was sailing east of Taiwan at the same time, the US Navy official said, confirming information from the US Naval Institute (USNI), an independent, but close to US Navy organization. . .

Ronald Reagan and Tripoli are both carriers of the latest generation of F-35 fighter jets, according to the USNI.

The Pentagon confirmed that the presence of these two ships in the region was not linked to the visit of Ms. Pelosi, the highest US official to visit the island since her predecessor Newt Gingrich in 1997.

“It is clear that we are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of elected members of Congress, wherever they choose to go and when” they travel, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday.