Sina Delenda Est

USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier sails through South China Sea in defiance of China
By Adam Harvey

Deep in the South China Sea the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, has a point to make.
"It shows resolve, and gives decision space to our leaders," the ship's commanding officer, Captain Doug Verissimo, said.
"When they put a carrier strike group somewhere it helps to show that the United States is interested.
"We don't have a lot of these, so when you put one in a certain area it has some influence.
"Of course it also gives our diplomats time and space to negotiate and make decisions, ultimately to try and prevent any type of armed conflict."
The Carl Vinson is the flagship of a strike group from the US Third Fleet.
The other vessels are here — but you can't see them.
The Carl Vinson is the flagship of a strike group from the US Third Fleet. 

Somewhere over the horizon, guided missile cruisers and destroyers form a protective shield around the aircraft carrier.
No-one on board will say it so bluntly, but the ship is sailing through the South China Sea to send a deliberate message: these waters aren't China's alone.
China has built airstrips and ports on reefs and shoals throughout the sea in defiance of a ruling from an international tribunal in the Hague.
"We want to keep laws and norms in place that we don't change the map along the way, to avoid frictions," Captain Verissimo said.
"As you change maps it creates new frictions and new issues."

The ship's aircraft includes FA18 Super Hornets, EA 18G Growlers and Nighthawks.

He doesn't mention it by name, but the only nation trying to change the map out here is China, which has drawn a so-called "Nine Dash Line" around waters it claims as its own.
It doesn't want anyone going near any of its artificial islands.
The strike group's commander, Rear Admiral John Fuller, won't reveal where he's planning on sailing during this mission but it's clear he's not charting his course using China's map.
"I will say our navigation is very good and we know where international law says we can operate and I know where international law says we can't. And we're going to do what international law says we can do."

The ship's commanding officer describes the Carl Vinson as a floating city — it has a dental surgery, gyms, a Starbucks cafe, armed guards, Friday night karaoke and even a chapel that holds services for Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists … and Wiccans.
There's a permanent crew of 3,000 — and another 2,000 people on board associated with the ship's aircraft: about 70 planes, including FA18 Super Hornets and Hornets, EA 18G Growlers, Nighthawk helicopters and surveillance aircraft.
There are 3,000 permanent crew on board USS Carl Vinson and another 2,000 for the ship's aircraft.

I'm on board of the Vinson along with media from the Philippines — the nation with perhaps the most to lose from Chinese expansion in the South China Sea.
China's already blocked Filipino fishermen from the lucrative fishing ground around Scarborough Shoal.
The US is making a big deal of this trip because it wants to show Filipinos that it stands with them in keeping the South China Sea open.
The ship is moving between an old ally and a new one … and another nation concerned about China's island-building in these waters.
The Carl Vinson began this leg of its journey in Manila and it'll drop anchor next off Danang, Vietnam.
It'll be the first visit from a US aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War.
This time the fighter jets will be stowed away.