US to move Indo-Pacific aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to oversee Afghan withdrawal

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In a surprise move, the US is likely to move its only aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific to the Gulf to support the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.<br />
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<a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-expected-move-only-aircraft-carrier-asia-pacific-region-middle-east">According to <em>the VOA</em></a>, the US has deployed the <a href="https://twitter.com/Gipper_76">USS Ronald Reagan </a>at Yokosuka, Japan, for its Pacific operations. If it moves to West Asia, the contested region around the East China Sea and the South China Sea will be left without an aircraft carrier.<br />
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Even though the <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/indo-pacific-region-to-get-crowded-as-the-uk-aircraft-carrier-group-sets-sail-90068.html">British aircraft carrier strike group</a>—HMS Queen Elizabeth—will reach the region, there is likely to be a gap when the Western powers may not have an aircraft carrier in the region. The British carrier has its own helicopters and jets besides American fighter jets and troops.<br />
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For the US military, 2021 has thrown up two areas of interest—the Indo-Pacific owing to China's belligerence against its neighbours and in the SCS, and also the Af-Pak region from where it is withdrawing its troops after nearly two decades. The movement of its strike force from Japan to the Gulf links both these areas of operation.<br />
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The Japan-based strike group and its air wing will be deployed to the Gulf region for the first time after the 2003 Iraq invasion.<br />
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In March the US had released the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/03/interim-national-security-strategic-guidance/">Interim National Security Guidance paper</a>, which identified China as "increasingly assertive". The paper, which is also known as US President Joe Biden's vision document, said that the country will have a stronger military presence in the Indo-Pacific and build alliances with like-minded countries.<br />
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The report also saw Beijing as "the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system".</p>
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<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/us-to-deepen-ties-with-india-sees-china-as-global-rival-71048.html"><strong>Read More: US to deepen ties with India, sees China as global rival</strong></a></p>
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With the Biden administration working on the same lines as the Trump administration regarding the pull-out of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan, much progress has happened in the region. Besides Afghanistan, the US is also involved in operations in Syria and Iraq.<br />
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Aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, which was on duty in the Gulf, will be supported by USS Ronald Reagan. Though the Pentagon did not make it clear if the USS Eisenhower will also be re-deployed, it is possible that it may undergo routine maintenance or repairs.<br />
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However, the <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/us-sends-pacific-aircraft-carrier-cover-afghanistan-withdrawal"><em>Al-Monitor</em> website</a> has said that USS Eisenhower will head home.<br />
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Pentagon press secretary John Kirby declined to confirm the deployment, saying the Pentagon does not talk about ship movements in advance.</p>