On Thursday, the flagship aircraft carrier of a US Navy strike group left its Japanese home port, marking the end of nearly nine years of service in the Indo-Pacific, where it played a critical role in the US effort to strengthen defense ties with Japan and other regional partners.
The departure of the USS Ronald Reagan, one of America’s largest warships and a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, comes at a time when tensions in the Indo-Pacific region are rising due to China’s growing assertiveness.
Later this year, the USS George Washington, a different Nimitz-class carrier, will take its place. Japan has accelerated the development of its military capability and considerably enhanced its combined naval operations with the US.
