Three aircraft carriers to conduct major exercise in Western Pacific during Trump’s visit

The Navy announced on Wednesday night that the ships of the USS Ronald Reagan, USS Nimitz, and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike groups will participate in the exercise from Saturday to Tuesday in the Western Pacific.

Trump referenced the carriers in a speech in South Korea this week while describing the military power he is willing to bring to bear if Kim Jong Un doesn’t end his development of nuclear weapons.

“Currently stationed in the vicinity of this peninsula are the three largest aircraft carriers in the world,” Trump said.

The strike force is planning to participate in air defense drills, sea surveillance, replenishments at sea, defensive air combat training, close-in coordinated maneuvers, among other training exercises.

“It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three,” Adm. Scott Swift, head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. “Multiple carrier strike force operations are very complex, and this exercise in the Western Pacific is a strong testament to the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s unique ability and ironclad commitment to the continued security and stability of the region.”

The last time three carrier strike groups have operated together in the Western Pacific was in 2006 and 2007 during exercises for Valiant Shield off the coast of Guam.

The Reagan is based in Yokosuka, Japan. Nimitz is in the Western Pacific as it nears the end of its deployment to the Middle East, and Roosevelt, after leaving the Pacific, will head to the Middle East.

Navy officials, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, have played down the notion that the three carriers were sent to the waters off North Korea to provoke action.

“These three carriers are not there specifically targeting North Korea,” Dunford told reporters. “This is a routine demonstration of our commitment to the region.”