TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan on Thursday (July 28) returned to the South China Sea after a port call in Singapore.

"USS Ronald Reagan and her strike group are underway, operating in the South China Sea following a successful port visit to Singapore," Reuters quoted Commander Hayley Sims as saying.

The carrier "is continuing normal, scheduled operations as part of her routine patrol in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific," she added. 

While in Singapore, sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan and its carrier group volunteered in community relations projects with the Salvation Army, a local food bank, and the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home.

Prior to its stop in Singapore, the aircraft carrier was in the South China Sea, where it conducted maritime security operations, including flight operations, maritime strike training, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units. It also replenished supplies and carried out fueling at-sea, per a U.S. Seventh Fleet press release.

"It is clear from this for everyone to see who is the biggest threat to the South China Sea and the Asian region's peace and stability,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said on Thursday.

“The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the press release said, adding that the Seventh Fleet “conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Pacific area of operations.”

The South China Sea operations come as tensions in the region have ramped up following news of Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan. Pelosi had originally planned to travel to Taiwan in April but the trip was canceled after she tested positive for COVID-19.

Pelosi’s itinerary for an Asia trip later this month has listed a Taiwan visit as “tentative,” according to NBC. Her forthcoming tour will have confirmed stopovers in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Beijing has blasted the trip, saying it would “severely undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, gravely impact the foundation of China-U.S. relations and send a seriously wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces.”