Off China's coast, U.S. carrier displays teeth behind the pivot

A U.S. Navy personnel works in the control room of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington, during a tour of the ship in the South China Sea November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, South China Sea (Reuters) - While cuts in Pentagon budgets and political gridlock in Washington have cast doubt on the sustainability of a U.S. "pivot" back to Asia, its military realities are all too clear from the flight deck of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier.

F-18 Super Hornet jet fighters roar from its decks with chest-thumping velocity less than 300 km (185 miles) from the Chinese coast - a symbol of U.S. naval dominance in Asia that Chinese analysts fear could contain Beijing's rising power for decades.