The USS Carl Vinson will spend an extra 30 days on deployment in order to patrol the waters off the Korean Peninsula, the ship’s commander announced late Tuesday night.
Rear Adm. Jim Kilby, commander of Carrier Strike Group One, said in a Facebook post that the Carl Vinson will spend an extra 30 days at sea in order to “provide a persistent presence” near North Korea.
“Our mission is to reassure allies and our partners of our steadfast commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,” Kilby wrote. “We will continue to be the centerpiece of visible maritime deterrence, providing our national command authority with flexible deterrent options, all domain access, and a visible forward presence.”
The Carl Vinson is the subject of controversy this week after the White House said last week it had sailed toward North Korea in order to provide a deterrent for Kim Jong-un’s scheduled missile test. A photo posted on Sunday showed the ship near Sumatra in the south Pacific, and reports surfaced Tuesday that it had sailed south instead of north when the White House made that statement.
The Vinson had been scheduled to take part in joint exercises with the Australian Navy, and it was announced that those exercises had been canceled. However, the Vinson took part in a shorter exercise with the Australian Navy before sailing toward North Korea.
The Vinson’s mission comes at a time of heightening tensions with North Korea as President Trump has made it clear that he wants to take a more aggressive stance toward Kim and his regime.
Vice President Mike Pence has spent the last few days in the region discussing North Korea and pressuring American allies and China to put more pressure on the regime to disarm.
