A US military surveillance aircraft was spotted close to China’s south coast for the third time this week on Friday, Chinese sources said, as the US Navy reported two of its aircraft carrier strike groups had conducted dual exercises in the South China Sea to boost their combat readiness.

Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the carrier strike groups’ operations showed the US Navy was intent on maintaining its freedom of navigation in the South China Sea regardless of the rising challenge from the Chinese military. “The US Navy remains operationally ready and has been able to bring the Covid-19 contagion under control,” he said.