Big U.S. Fleet Nears Disputed Islands, But What For?

It’s probably just a coincidence; no need to worry yet. But the U.S. has quietly assembled a powerful air, land and sea armada not far from where Japan and China are squaring off over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups and a Marine Corps air-ground task force have begun operating in the Western Pacific, within easy reach of the Senkaku Islands.

That’s where Japanese and Chinese patrol boats are engaged in an increasingly tense standoff.

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