Tensions have escalated with China after the deployment of three United States aircraft carriers to the Pacific Ocean. Because everything was so calm between us already, right?
According to a press release by the US Navy, three aircraft carriers have been deployed in the Pacific Ocean. On the western side, closer to Asia, is the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Theodore Roosevelt, while the eastern side hosts the USS Nimitz. Each craft can house over 60 aircrafts. The last time we saw a deployment of this size was in 2017 when tensions with North Korea were at their peak, due to their nuclear program.
Rear Adm. Stephen Koehler, director of operations at Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, told the Associated Press that he is “pretty fired up that we’ve got three of [the aircraft carriers] at the moment.”
China, however, doesn’t feel the same enthusiasm. Regional sources are reporting on the deployment, with Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie calling the decision a power move by the US. They imply that this presence could “threaten Chinese troops on the Xisha and Nansha islands (Paracel and Spratly islands) as well as vessels passing through nearby waters, so the US could carry out its hegemonic politics.”
This action is also contradictory to a popular narrative being pushed in Chinese media, which presents the United States as struggling as a result of the pandemic.
And in a sense, we are. Approximately 20% of all crew members about the USS Roosevelt were reported to have contracted the COVID 19 virus when it was docked in March.
What Does This Mean for Us?
International tensions are, unfortunately, something entirely out of the control of the common populace. To speak frankly, there’s nothing we can do about this. All we can do is wait and see how these tensions develop. At worst, one nation will attack the other and a war will be declared. This would be an awful idea, especially right now. But we also don’t have the most peaceful folk in power right now. So there’s no certainty as to how things will go.
Our advice: do a refresher on your bug out plans, especially if you live in a high target zone. If we reach a SHTF scenario, you’ll have someplace to hide out.