US sends Aircraft Carriers in South China Sea after China's ‘campaign of bullying’

US aircraft carriers have sailed through the South China Sea as Washington accused Beijing of a "campaign of bullying" in the disputed region. USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan sailed along with their strike groups into the sea in a major show of strength to China.

Pictures show the steel armada sailing through the region that has been the source of years of tensions between the US and China. The nuclear-powered aircraft carriers launched F/A 18E Super Hornet fighter jets, and were joined by guided missile destroyers and cruisers in the exercise.

China is carrying out military drills of its own in the area, with a gathering of forces close to the contested Paracel Islands.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of a" completely unlawful" pursuit of territory in the South China Sea.

He condemned China for carrying out a campaign of "bullying" to control the disputed waters. The South China Sea is considered to be potentially energy rich and a key global shipping lane. China has long claimed an area known as the "nine-dash line" as its own.

It has been filling the region with its naval power and constructing artificial islands for military bases.

Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam also contest China's claim over the sea. China accused the US of "deliberately distorting facts and international law" over Mr Pompeo's latest comments as the feud ratchets up again.

Meanwhile, Britain announced that its new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth could also be sent to the Far East. The US Navy directly responded to the jibe on Twitter, saying that its forces are "not intimidated".

“China has a wide selection of anti-aircraft carrier weapons like DF-21D and DF-26 “aircraft carrier killer” missiles. South China Sea is fully within grasp of the PLA; any US aircraftcarrier movement in the region is at the pleasure of PLA,” a tweet from The Global Times said.

The US Navy’s chief of information replied: “And yet, there they are. Two USNavy aircraft carriers operating in the international waters of the South China Sea. And in the Chinese military newspaper the PLA Daily, Colonel Zhang Junshe warned the US to back down.

He said: "The US is not a country in the region and it is doing large-scale exercises in the South China Sea, far away from its homeland, yet at the same time it is unreasonably accusing China of doing normal military exercises at its doorstep.

"The double-standard remarks from the US cannot disguise its real motives, which is to push militarization and destabilize peace in the South China Sea."

He accused the US of having a "Cold War" attitude as relations between the two superpowers freeze over - with rows also raging over the coronavirus pandemic. The US military drill is said to have been long planned and not considered a direct response to recent actions from China.

Speaking of the exercise,  Rear Admiral George M. Wikoff said: "The purpose is to show an unambiguous signal to our partners and allies that we are committed to regional security and stability."

Wikoff, commander of the strike group led by the Ronald Reagan, insisted the exercises were not a response to those being conducted by China. The Pentagon has criticised the Beijing’s drills as "counter-productive to efforts at easing tensions and maintaining stability".

The United States accuses China of trying to intimidate Asian neighbours who might want to use the sea's extensive oil and gas reserves.a