In a span of 20 minutes, 20 F-18 fighter jets took off and landed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, in a powerful display of military precision and efficiency. The nuclear-powered warship, leading a carrier strike group, was conducting what the US military called routine training in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, headed for a port call in the Philippines, a defense treaty ally. The United States is not alone in carrying out naval patrols in the strategic waterway, where Chinese, Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies operate, possibly increasing tensions and risking accidents at sea.

After China's massive drill, US patrols disputed South China Sea. (2018, April 12). Manila Bulletin, p. 11.