Defense policymakers in Japan and the U.S. are privately voicing concern about the total absence of U.S. aircraft carriers from East Asian waters for four months next year.
Budget constraints at home, combined with the rise of the Islamic State group in the Middle East, are limiting the American fleet's ability to operate in Asia. Temporarily at least, not a single aircraft carrier will be deployed in East Asia.
Japanese and U.S. officials fear having no U.S. carriers, which have long been the bedrock of the region's stability, could tempt North Korea and China to take advantage of the power vacuum to initiate a military adventure.
The USS George Washington, the only U.S. aircraft carrier with an overseas home port, is to leave its base for nuclear refueling and an overhaul. Until the USS Ronald Reagan arrives at the Japanese port of Yokosuka, located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, to replace the ship, there will be no American carriers in East Asia, according to persons familiar with the matter.
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