U.S. pulls last aircraft carrier in Asia as Trump focuses on Iran and the Western Hemisphere - Japan Today

The USS George Washington is leaving the Pacific to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, temporarily leaving the western Pacific without a U.S. aircraft carrier as the Lincoln's deployment stretches past its original May return date amid reported mental health and supply strain aboard the ship. Analysts say the extended Iran operations are exhausting sailors and pulling resources away from the region the administration itself has called second in priority only to the Western Hemisphere.

China has responded with visible activity, including naval exercises with Indonesia, live-fire drills near Japan's Okinotori island, and military drills near the Scarborough Shoal disputed with the Philippines — moves analysts say are designed to signal to regional allies that the U.S. is distracted. The Navy could deploy a fourth carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, allowing the Washington's eventual return, but maintenance backlogs at the nation's only two carrier shipyards threaten reduced carrier presence for years to come.

Adm. Frank Bradley has been touring the region, including Manila, to reassure allies of continued U.S. commitment, while the USS Gerald R. Ford recently completed an 11-month deployment — the longest since Vietnam — that included a shipboard fire displacing hundreds of sailors.

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