Here's a look at recent developments in the South China Sea, including air operations by the US Navy's carrier Ronald Reagan Strike Group and new military drills by China.
China said Thursday that it had expressed concerns to the U.S. over the passage of a pair of Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait, days ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Officials in Beijing have yet to comment on passage of the American destroyer and cruiser, but in the past the Chinese government has taken a hard line against Navy vessels transiting the waterway separating mainland China from Taiwan.
Human error on the part of the cruiser Antietam’s commanding officer caused the ship to run aground on Jan. 31 in Tokyo Bay, according to a Navy investigation into the incident.