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The USS Carl Vinson (top right) and the USS Ronald Reagan (lower right) aircraft carriers during exercises with the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the East Sea

After completing joint exercises with the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), American aircraft carriers the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan departed the East Sea, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on June 6.

“The two carriers [the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan] both left the Sea of Japan [East Sea] after completing three days of exercises [with the JSDF],” NHK quoted a Pentagon official as saying on June 6. This official explained that the USS Carl Vinson, which had provoked fears of a “crisis in April on the Korean Peninsula” when it approached the East Sea at the end of April, had started sailing toward its home base of San Diego, California.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carried out joint exercises in the East Sea with the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan from June 1 to 3. The USS Carl Vinson spent the month of May training with the South Korean military in the East Sea and then headed toward Japan on May 31. The USS Ronald Reagan departed from its home port of Yokosuka on May 16 to rendezvous with the USS Carl Vinson. The Japanese media reported that this was the first time the JSDF had carried out exercises with two American aircraft carriers at the same time, and the Japanese Ministry of Defense published related photographs.

In related news, the USS Nimitz, another American aircraft carrier that was dispatched to the Western Pacific to replace the USS Carl Vinson, is planning to sail to the Indian Ocean next month, NHK reported. The aircraft carrier is supposed to participate in joint exercises with the JSDF and the Indian navy that will take place in the Indian Ocean next month. But the Pentagon emphasized that it can adjust its aircraft carrier operations according to changes in the circumstances on the Korean Peninsula and said that it will keep a close watch on North Korea.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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