As tensions mounted on the Korean Peninsula, Adm. Harry Harris made a dramatic announcement: An aircraft carrier had been ordered to sail north from Singapore on April 8 toward the Western Pacific.
According to photos released Saturday by the U.S. Navy, the carrier battle group thought to have been deployed to counter North Korean aggression is actually thousands of miles away from the Korea Peninsula.
Yet Boris Johnson spoke up in support of the U.S.'s activity in the region saying, "We stand alongside our worldwide partners in making clear that North Korea must adhere to United Nations resolutions created to secure peace and stability in the region and stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons". At maximum speed of about 35 miles per hour, it would take the Vinson nearly four days to cover that distance.
The mixup was revealed on Monday when the Navy posted a photo of the Carl Vinson sailing through the Sunda Strait separating the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. They just lie outright about the location, direction, and intent of entire carrier groups.
Three American aircraft carriers will enter the Sea of Japan next week, South Korean media has reported.
"She's stationed there in the western Pacific for a reason", Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. It's prudent. But it does a lot of things. "It ensures our - we have the strategic capabilities, and it gives the President options in the region".
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"Such a tactic is very like Trump's style, but I don't think it's a good way to handle the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula because Kim will not compromise with threats".
The strike group has been conducting drills with the Australian navy in recent days, the official said.
This false narrative fed into Trump's muscular image after the Syrian strikes and stoked fears that a preemptive attack on North Korea was in the works.
He called North Korea's failed missile launch Sunday, a day after a massive military parade in Pyongyang, a clear signal of the intent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Officials from the White House told the Times that its information about the ship, Carl Vinson, along with four other warships, came from the Defense Department.
Vice President Mike Pence says the US commitment to South Korea is "iron-clad and immutable" in the face of North Korea's work to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile program.
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