Two US carrier strike groups, the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz, have been deployed into the Pacific with an eye toward confronting China.
And because US-China tensions often go in puzzling directions, the carriers are being presented as creating a “bubble of health” to defeat the coronavirus. Officials added no carriers are on the ships.
Exactly how fighting coronavirus will counter China is unclear, but this is roughly in keeping with administrative narratives trying to blame China for the whole pandemic.
Parking ships near China doesn’t appear to solve anything, but is likely to fuel further tensions. The tit-for-tat measures are likely to continue, keeping the region on edge.
