China has ramped up military activity near Taiwan, the South China Sea and Japan as the gap opens, even as the US insists other warships and aircraft remain in the region.
The US is moving its last aircraft carrier from the West Pacific to the Middle East. Experts now fear that China could use this temporary power vacuum in the region.
USS George Washington would replace USS Abraham Lincoln, who has been in the Middle East since May as part of the U.S. offensive against Iran, in collaboration with Israel.