US carrier strike force visits Manila

MANILA, Philippines - A carrier strike group from the US Navy's "Great Green Fleet" is in Manila for a port visit and for community relations projects.

 

According to the US Pacific Command, the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group began its port visits to Subic Bay on May 20 before sailing for Manila on May 21.

 

The group includes aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and destroyers USS Stockdale, USS Chung-Hoon and USS William P. Lawrence and cruiser USS Mobile Bay.

 

"This is a great opportunity for our sailors to see the sights and experience the warm hospitality of the Filipino people. Many of our sailors look forward to reconnecting with family and friends in the local area," US Navy Rear Adm. Marcus Hitchcock, commander of the strike group, said in an official release.

 

Around 238 of the 8,500 sailors in the strike group are of Filipino heritage, including Cmdr. Raphael Castillejo, commanding officer of the USS Stockdale.

 

While in the country, strike group personnel will participate in community relations projects, including visits to schools, cemeteries and memorials, and a medical center.

 

"The Great Green Fleet" is a US Navy initiative to conserve energy and to use alternative fuels like biofuel.

 

The Stennis strike group, meanwhile, is part of the US 7th Fleet, which acts as a ready force in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

 

Earlier this month, China sent fighter jets in response to a US ship sailing within 22 kilometers of a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

 

According to the US Defense department, the Chinese jets were scrambled while USS William P. Lawrence -- among the ships in the Stennis strike group -- sailed near Fiery Cross Reef (Kagitingan Reef), which China controls but which the Philippines claims as part of the West Philippine Sea.

 

"These excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise," US Department of Defense spokesperson Bill Urban said in reports on the incident.