Carrier group patrols pose new regional test

US warships have begun a fresh round of "freedom of navigation" patrols in the South China Sea. Despite China's strong opposition, the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group began what are described by the US navy as "routine operations" in the waters on Saturday.

They are the US Navy's first such operations since US President Donald Trump was sworn in, and sent a message that the new administration in the United States might be continuing with the strategy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific initiated by the previous administration.

However, as has been shown by previous patrols, such maneuvers only raise tensions in the waters. And the new patrols will only add more uncertainty to the regional security situation. After becoming highly volatile, the regional situation had become calmer after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president of the Philippines and adopted a different approach to the territorial disputes with China compared with his predecessor Benigno Aquino III.