The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson transits the Sunda Strait on April 15. | U.S. Navy Trump’s ‘armada’ heading to North Korea was really off Australian coast

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that the Trump administration had said was steaming toward North Korea was actually conducting exercises off the coast of Australia, a U.S. defense official acknowledged Tuesday.

The Navy announced April 9 that the USS Carl Vinson Strike Group, including the carrier and two guided missile destroyers, was ordered to “sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean.”


Following the Navy’s announcement, a U.S. official told Reuters the deployment of the group of ships was a “necessary” show of force because of North Korea’s recent behavior, which included a failed missile test. President Donald Trump went on to say the U.S. was “sending an armada” to counter the North Korean threat.

The move prompted a strong rebuke by North Korea, which told CNN in a statement that it would counter the "reckless acts of aggression" with "whatever methods the U.S. wants to take."

But a Navy photograph posted online Saturday showed the Carl Vinson in the Sunda Strait near Indonesia, providing the first clues that the ship was not where many had reported.

The Carl Vinson Strike Group is currently off the northwest coast of Australia after conducting exercises with the Royal Australian Navy for the past three days and is heading north toward the Sea of Japan, the defense official said.

In Hawaii, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command explained the Vinson’s movements this way:

“The USS Carl Vinson Strike Group is proceeding to the Western Pacific as ordered. After departing Singapore on April 8 and canceling a scheduled port visit to Perth, the Strike Group was able to complete a curtailed period of previously scheduled training with Australia in international waters off the northwest coast of Australia.

“The Carl Vinson Strike Group is heading north to the Western Pacific as a prudent measure.”

Defense News first reported that the carrier was not near North Korea on Monday night. The Washington Post and New York Times also reported on the confusion which The Times said stemmed from a “glitch-ridden sequence of events” that included a premature announcement of the deployment from the Navy and an incorrect statement from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Mattis was asked directly about whether the deployment of the Carl Vinson Strike Group was intended as a “show of presence” to North Korea during a press conference a week ago.

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“She's just on her way up there because that's where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time,” Mattis responded.

“I believe it's because she was originally headed in one direction for an exercise, and we canceled our role in that exercise, and that's what became public. We had to explain why she wasn't in that exercise,” he continued, though the Defense Department’s transcript was amended to note that a port visit to Australia, not the exercise with the Royal Australian Navy, was canceled.

The defense official was unsure if the Navy had had any conversations with Mattis’ office or the Joint Staff following the mix-up, but said it was “not the Navy’s place” to speak with the White House about it.

The White House had no comment, referring questions to the Pentagon. The Pentagon directed all queries to U.S. Pacific Command.

