Satellite imagery has captured a United States aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, where China claims sovereignty over most of the waters, claims that overlap with those of a number of other countries. The U.S. Seventh Fleet, which maintains America’s naval presence in the Western Pacific Ocean, confirmed the deployment of USS Nimitz in the South China Sea to Newsweek. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment. The presence of the Nimitz and its carrier strike group in the South China Sea comes as the U.S. military and the Philippines, a mutual defense treaty ally, are carrying out Exercise Balikatan, their largest annual drill, from April 21 to May 9. The Nimitz was previously underway in the waters east of the Philippines, a Newsweek map shows. It became the first U.S. aircraft carrier to operate in the South China Sea since early April, following the departure of USS Carl Vinson, which was re-tasked to the Middle East. A satellite image reviewed by Newsweek shows the Nimitz was in the South China Sea on Sunday. It was first seen in that region the day before, 118 miles northeast of Scarborough Shoal, said open-source intelligence researcher @MT_Anderson on X (formerly Twitter).

Full report : Satellites Show US Aircraft Carrier in Contested Waters Near China,