Three US warships in town for stopover

The three US warships - with the USS Wayne E. Meyer in the lead, followed by the USS Carl Vinson and USS Lake Champlain - flanked by Japanese destroyers in an exercise. The US warships visiting Singapore are part of the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group
The three US warships - with the USS Wayne E. Meyer in the lead, followed by the USS Carl Vinson and USS Lake Champlain - flanked by Japanese destroyers in an exercise. The US warships visiting Singapore are part of the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group One. PHOTO: US NAVY

The nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrives in Singapore today, following two weeks of operations in the Asia-Pacific, including exercises with the Japanese and South Korean navies.

The carrier will make a scheduled stopover with two other warships under the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group One - the USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Lake Champlain.

The group's commander, Rear- Admiral Jim Kilby, said in a statement ahead of the visit: "This port visit reaffirms our commitment to the US-Singapore defence relationship and our shared belief that lawful use of the sea and airspace is essential to prosperity, stability and security for all nations in the Pacific."

During the visit, sailors from the Carrier Strike Group One will volunteer at charity organisations such as the Willing Hearts soup kitchen and Child at Street 11, a childcare centre for those from low-income families.

After leaving Singapore, the Carrier Strike Group One will continue on its scheduled Western Pacific deployment.

The USS Carl Vinson strike group is operating in the region as part of the US Third Fleet forward initiative, to provide increased US naval presence alongside the US Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan.

The initiative, announced in 2015 by the US Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Scott Swift, gives more flexibility to the US Pacific Command by allowing the command and control of both fleets to be based on missions, rather than geographic areas.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 04, 2017, with the headline Three US warships in town for stopover. Subscribe