The United States sent several modern-equipped warships to the South China Sea in April, amid China's harassment of Malaysian drilling ships.

Warships dispatched to the South China Sea last month include amphibious assault ships USS America, cruiser USS Bunker Hill and destroyer USS Barry.

This is considered the most modern force that the US Navy can deploy to maintain a presence in the South China Sea in the context of the Oceanic Ocean 8 ship and Chinese fishing vessels and fishing vessels accused of harassing drilling ships.

The US Navy's Pacific Fleet is staffed with two Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

When no US aircraft carrier can patrol the Pacific in April and May, deploying smaller warships proved useful to maintain a regional presence.

The coastal combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, after an upgrade from last year, has significantly increased its offensive capabilities, equipped with the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) capable of destroying enemy warships from around

The USS America assault landing ship does not own a steam catapult, a braking cable, an E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and its fleet is smaller than the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

In the photo taken on April 18, the USS America ship operating in the South China Sea carrying a standard US Marine air unit including 12 MV-22B helicopters, 6 stealthy vertical takeoff fighters (STOVL)

From October 2019, the US Marines began testing the idea of a "light aircraft carrier", helping amphibious ships like USS America to operate a maximum of 20-24 F-35Bs and two MH-

Six F-35Bs on USS America can switch between two battle modes, which are "stealth" and "beast".

When more firepower is needed, the F-35B will switch to "monster" mode and be fitted with underwing pylons to carry additional weapons.

If all 6 F-35Bs on USS America were switched to "beast" mode, they would carry a total of 60 missiles, more than twice when operating in stealth mode.

Tactically, the air force on USS America can combine stealth and monster mode when deploying F-35B fighters to carry if needed to show strength.

China recently carried out a series of aggressive activities in the South China Sea in the context of countries focusing on dealing with Covid-19.

Vietnam and other countries firmly oppose these illegal actions of China.

The Chinese ship team on May 15 left the survey area, heading for China, three days after the West Capella drilling vessel completed its exploration and departure plans.