USA18 August, 20263 min read
Trump Orders USS George Washington From Western Pacific, Leaving China a Peacetime Gap
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
USS George Washington moved from Japan to the Middle East to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln. USS Abraham Lincoln faced record days at sea and concerns over sailors' mental health.
Carrier shift to Iran
The U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington is leaving the western Pacific and is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, leaving the United States without an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific for a period described as difficult to specify.
Military analysts and lawmakers warned that the gap could let China “take advantage of it in peacetime,” with Ret. Col. Mark Cancian saying, “The United States doesn’t like to leave the area uncovered, because the Chinese can take advantage of it in peacetime, and they’ve done that.”
Newsweek reported that President Donald Trump ordered the Navy’s only actively deployed aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific to aid operations in the Middle East, and it said the replacement was confirmed as the USS George Washington, now en route to U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of operations from a port visit to Vietnam.
The Houston Chronicle said Trump downplayed reports about conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that a retired, unnamed, admiral assured him the ship is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.”
Rivals test the gap
As the last carrier leaves the western Pacific, Newsweek said a trio of U.S. challengers—China, Russia and North Korea—ramped up military activities, and it quoted Raymond Kuo saying the absence of a carrier group means Washington has lost its key power projection tool. Kuo told Newsweek, “While the U.S. still has ground and air forces at regional bases, the absence of a carrier group means Washington has lost its key power projection tool.”
The West Asian report added that the transfer of a U.S. aircraft carrier from Japan to the Middle East reveals growing pressure on Washington’s military strategy and raises concerns about China exploiting the gap in the Pacific amid the ongoing Iran conflict. It also quoted White House spokesperson Anna Kasparian telling Axios, “The U.S. military maintains the posture needed to achieve any objective set by the Commander-in-Chief.”
Readiness, allies, and risk
The West Asian report said the U.S. Navy operates a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, enabling two carriers to be deployed continuously without exhausting the crews, but it warned that if two carriers remain in the Middle East to support operations in Iran, “several months each year” could pass without an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
It quoted Brian Clark saying, “If you’re Taiwan, the Philippines, or Japan, you look at this and think the United States isn’t really here, while the Chinese are, and they’re showing their military capabilities.”
El Mundo described the USS George Washington as the only permanently deployed American aircraft carrier in Asia and based in Yokosuka (Japan), saying it has received orders to leave the Pacific and head to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.
El Mundo also said the departure coincides with Donald Trump’s order to substantially reduce large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea, while it framed the question for Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan as where U.S. ships will be if a conflict breaks out at their door.