A few hundred miles off the western coast of the Philippines, the roar of American warplanes punctuates the air. The USS Ronald Reagan is carrying out drills above the South China Sea, a 1.4 million-square-mile expanse of deep blue at the heart of a slow-brewing dispute between the US and China.
The action does not go unnoticed. Soon after entering these waters, satellite images show the ship is surrounded by Chinese vessels. The defence ministry in Beijing lodges a complaint, accusing the US of provocation by “flexing its muscles” in Chinese territory.
This bustling, floating city – the size of almost four Big Bens laid end-to-end, the ship carries nearly 5,000 personnel including 5 dentists…