U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan leaves Japan after 9-year mission

The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan left the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo on Thursday after completing a nearly nine-year tour of duty amid rising tensions over provocations by China and North Korea.

It will be replaced by another Nimitz-class vessel, the George Washington, which was deployed to the base from 2008 to 2015.

The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan leaves the Yokosuka naval base in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, on May 16, 2024, for an overhaul after a more than eight-year deployment. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington will be deployed to the base later in the year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The Ronald Reagan will stay on alert in the Pacific Ocean as it heads to a navy maintenance facility in Washington state, the U.S. military said.

The Ronald Reagan arrived at Yokosuka in October 2015 and performed patrol duties in the surrounding waters amid growing tensions over China intensifying pressure on Taiwan as well as North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

Previously, the Ronald Reagan participated in the "Operation Tomodachi" rescue and relief efforts jointly conducted with Japan's Self-Defense Forces following the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that devastated the country's northeast.

Capt. Daryle Cardone, commanding officer of the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, holds a press conference on the vessel berthed at the Yokosuka naval base in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, on May 16, 2024, as it leaves the base for an overhaul after a more than eight-year deployment. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington will be deployed to the base later in the year. (Kyodo)

The vessel and its crew "deployed throughout the region to uphold the international rule of law and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific," its commanding officer, Capt. Daryle Cardone told reporters on deck prior to its departure.

Meanwhile, some local residents took to the water in boats to protest against the deployment of aircraft carriers, saying in this case it posed a nuclear hazard.