The area where the American warships have been sailing is around 200 nautical miles off the coast of Malaysia, defense experts said. On Tuesday, the United States Navy posted pictures of the warships on Twitter, accompanied by a third vessel, a destroyer called the Barry, saying that the expeditionary strike group was operating вЂњin support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.вЂќ The United States Indo-Pacific Command did not specify the exact location of the two American warships, citing operational restrictions, but it confirmed that the warships were in the South China Sea.

вЂњIs it just to say, вЂWeвЂ™re here?вЂ™ Or are they going to shadow the Chinese survey ship to try to stop it from operating?вЂќ here?вЂќ said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a think-tank in Singapore. supports the efforts of our allies and partners to determine their own economic interests.вЂќДЄnd regional governments have worried that the United States has a habit of briefly showing up in hot spots only to depart, leaving them to contend with an increasingly muscular Beijing. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the United States Indo-Pacific Command.

вЂњThrough our continued operational presence in the South China Sea, we are working with our allies and partners to promote freedom of navigation and overflight, and the international principles that underpin security and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific,вЂќ said Lt. American military officials have chastised China for its increased militarization of the waterway. While the United States has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, the American Navy says it has kept the peace in these waters for decades. An international tribunal has dismissed most of ChinaвЂ™s claims to the waterway, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling and has instead built naval bases on reefs it now controls. The Chinese government has made vast claims to the South China Sea that conflict with demarcations made by five other governments. вЂњItвЂ™s a quite deliberate Chinese strategy to try to maximize what they perceive as being a moment of distraction and the reduced capability of the United States to pressure neighbors,вЂќ said Peter Jennings, a former Australian defense official who is the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.ДЄfter the sinking of the Vietnamese boat, the State Department urged China in a statement вЂњto remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic, and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.вЂќ Instead, the Chinese governmentвЂ™s yearslong pattern of assertiveness has only intensified, military analysts said. Chinese and Australian warships have also powered into nearby waters, according to the defense experts.Дespite working to control a pandemic that spread from China earlier this year, Beijing has not reduced its activities in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which one-third of global shipping flows. At the same time, a Chinese government ship in the area has for days been tailing a Malaysian state oil company ship carrying out exploratory drilling. The America, an amphibious assault ship, and the Bunker Hill, a guided missile cruiser, entered contested waters off Malaysia. American warships have sailed into disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to military analysts, heightening a standoff in the waterway and sharpening the rivalry between the United States and China, even as much of the world is in lockdown because of the coronavirus.

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