A battle group led by American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has entered the South China Sea for its first maritime security mission of the year, observers in Beijing say as a Chinese naval fleet returns to its base in Hainan province.

The USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group entered the South China Sea on Monday and was patrolling waters south of Hainan, the think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative wrote on Twitter.

Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong was training near Hainan but returned on Tuesday to its base in the provincial capital city, Sanya, according to a satellite image posted by Twitter user @lobsterlarryliu, which tracks international navy movements.

The account also tweeted other satellite images showing that a type 054 frigate of the Chinese navy was following the USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea.

On Sunday, the Group of Seven countries issued a summit communique that demanded freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Beijing had installed several naval bases.

Meanwhile, the USS America amphibious ready group conducted an operation with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s tank landing ship JS Shimokita in the Philippine Sea on June 12 and 13.

The operation also involved the USS New Orleans and the USS Germantown. All three American vessels were based in Sasebo in Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture.

The joint operation was to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, as the ships served as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said.

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