The departure of a US aircraft carrier does not mean China is expected to invade Taiwan, Bryan Clark, a former Navy submariner and defence analyst at the Hudson Institute, told ABC News. But its absence gives Beijing another opportunity to demonstrate its military strength, he said. “They’re using this as part of the narrative to demonstrate to the Philippines, to Japan, to Indonesia and others that the U.S. is not the big dog in the western Pacific anymore,” Clark said. “They would just prefer that countries in the region decide that China is the bigger power and the US is not able to guarantee their security anymore.”
