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Carrier Strike Group USS Carl Vinson Will Keep Patrolling in The South China SeaU.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have regularly patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific for more than 70 years and will continue to do so. Carl Vinson has deployed to the region several times, starting with a deployment to the Western Pacific in 1983, a year after commissioning. Most recently in 2017, Vinson conducted Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea, alongside with its Carrier Strike Group 1. Among the escort ship was this missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain.On March 3, 2017, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) arrived at Sasebo, Japan for a port visit. Lake Champlain is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of the U.S. 3rd Fleet in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Commissioned August 12, 1988, Lake Champlain is named after the Battle of Lake Champlain, also known as the Battle of Plattsburgh. The Battle of Lake Champlain ended the final invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812 and denied the British leverage to demand exclusive control over the Great Lakes and any territorial gains against the New England states.US Read Admiral James Killby said America will continue to patrol the South China Sea to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed region. “We have operated here in the past, we’re going to operate here in the future, and we’re going to continue to reassure our allies.