The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (The Nimitz CSG) sailed from the Everett Naval Base on the west coast of the United States to Hawaii on December 3 last year, and began its overseas deployment mission. On December 16, it departed from Pearl Harbor and transferred to the command of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet. After spending Christmas and New Year in the Western Pacific, the “Nimitz” arrived at the so-called “high-threat sea area” in the eyes of the U.S. military. On January 12 this year, the “Nimitz”, which was heading north via the east coast of the Philippines, turned southwest and crossed the Bashi Channel into the South China Sea, thus beginning a period of full-speed combat cruising.
According to open-source intelligence information, the “Nimitz” aircraft carrier strike group took combat speed to quickly cross the South China Sea from the evening of January 12 to the evening of January 14. It took less than two and a half days to fully attack . I personally speculate that the US military has adopted a security strategy of “quickly passing through high-threat areas” and has not stayed in the South China Sea for too long. This may be the “new normal” that has gradually formed in recent years. In the past, it usually took 3 to 5 days for the US aircraft carrier formation to sail across the South China Sea. It was a maneuver and a group photo. This time, a straight route was adopted. It passed with its tail between its legs. Interestingly, the “Nimitz” slowed down significantly after crossing the “nine-dash line”, and continued sailing north of the Liane Islands for 5 days before arriving at the Changi base in Singapore. This is like a person crossing the “South China Sea Crossroads” with all his strength, and then walked slowly and panting for a long time at the other end of the intersection. For the nearly 50-year-old “Nimitz”, the U.S. marines on board may have to work overtime for such a full sprint.