China's aircraft carrier drills send political and military message

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - When a Chinese warship escorting the country's only aircraft carrier forced a U.S. guided missile cruiser to take evasive action this month to avoid a collision, it was protecting an exercise rich in both military and political significance.

The drills off the coast of Hainan Island mark not only the first time Beijing has sent a carrier into the disputed South China Sea but the first time it has manoeuvred with the kind of strike group of escort ships U.S. carriers deploy, regional military officers and analysts said.