Taiwan Strait Tensions: USS Tripoli Tests Out 'Lightning Carrier' Concept Under Beijing's Nose

The U.S Navy's America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli is in the South China Sea along with its air wing of F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, right on the heels of two warships transiting through the Taiwan strait in a direct challenge to Chinese claims on the waterway.

In what can be interpreted as both a message to China and the supreme confidence in their capabilities, the Marine Corps and the Navy are testing their "lightning carrier" concept in South China Sea, most of which China claims as its own.

The concept turns amphibious ships into small aircraft carriers, adding flexibility to naval operations. The concept was demonstrated for the first time by the two services in an exercise on USS Tripoli when 20 of its F-35B Lightning II jets were operated in the Pacific Ocean. F-35Bs are single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth combat aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing, useful to gain air superiority and perform strike missions.

The operation is also a chance for the services to show off their brand new hardware. Chinese media, quoting experts, had earlier brushed-off the transit of the two U.S. warships Sunday calling them "old." The USS Tripoli, on the other hand, is on its first deployment, having left its San Diego base in May, according to a USNI report.

As was reported earlier, two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers — the USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville — of the Seventh Fleet sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, in the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around the Taiwan following the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei. This was also the first reported transit by two American cruisers in the past four years. Every other time, the U.S. had sent destroyers, much smaller vessels.

Following this transit, the Chinese mouthpiece Global Times quoted experts saying that "as long as the U.S. vessels follow the rules of 'innocent passage' to keep a low profile and pose no harm, turn off weapons and fire-control radar system, and bring no actual threat to China's security, the PLA would just follow and monitor." That was a much more tame statement coming from China after all the display of anger and firepower following Pelosi's visit.

The Seventh Fleet said the USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville conducted the "routine" transit Sunday "through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law."

Earlier in June, China had rejected the idea of the Taiwan Strait as international waters. A month later, the U.S. sent the USS Benfold through the strait. The Chinese responded sharply, calling the U.S. a "maker of security risks."

The US does not share full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, both countries have developed a robust unofficial relationship with the U.S. considering Taiwan as its key partner in the Indo-Pacific. Although China claims the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory to be seized one day — if necessary by force — the U.S. supports the island's right to decide its own future.