US 'Floating Naval Base' Enters South China Sea For First Time As China's Militarization Shocks

The U.S. Navy's expeditionary mobile base, USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), has reportedly entered the South China Sea for the first time. The satellite image of the "floating naval base" in the disputed waters was released by a Beijing-based think tank Monday.

According to the think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, USS Miguel Keith was accompanied by a guided-missile destroyer southwest to the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, possibly for the first time since its commissioning last year.

USS Miguel Keith is a highly flexible platform that provides logistics movement from sea to shore, supporting a broad range of military operations. It also performs several tasks – hosting the landing and takeoffs of heavy helicopters; providing logistics support, including maintenance, repair, refuel, rearm and replenishment to other warships and helicopters and act as a command-and-control center.

According to security experts, the vessel would allow the U.S. to set up a sea base in many parts of the world without requiring land-based ports and infrastructure.

"It also means U.S. forces can be sustained offshore in unpredictable locations, which improves survivability as sea bases are harder to find and target than land bases," Timothy Heath, a security expert from the Rand think tank in the U.S., had told South China Morning Post during the ship's commissioning.

Expectedly, the presence of the vessel has triggered China as its arrival coincided with U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C Aquilino's statement that China has fully militarized at least three of the several islands it built in the South China Sea. Aquilino alleged Beijing has armed the islands with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets, thereby threatening all nations operating nearby.

A report by Chinese state-backed Global Media, quoting Chinese analysts, said the presence of USS Miguel Keith in the disputed waters could be problematic in peacetime. Though the vessel is "of little threat to China in combat, thanks to China's anti-ship capabilities," they called on China to "pay close attention to this alarming move."

Analysts said the warship can potentially enable the U.S. military to operate even more extensively in the region.

Meanwhile, reports said China's navy conducted drills with its upgraded J-11B fighter jets over the disputed South China Sea earlier this month. The People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command reportedly flew 10 jets in "round-the-clock" training and they took part in mock battles in four-versus-two and two-versus-two formation. Earlier, satellite images showed the jets on Woody Island, a Chinese-controlled military base in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.