The guided-missile destroyers Hohhot (Hull 161) and Wuhan (Hull 169), together with the guided-missile frigate Hengyang (Hull 568), steam in formation in an undisclosed sea area during a 4-day maritime real-combat training exercise on September 2, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Li Wei)

A US aircraft carrier reportedly entered the South China Sea and operated near the Nansha Islands on Wednesday, while at the same time a US destroyer trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands, a move that Chinese experts on Thursday deemed as an escalated provocation that could lead to an unwanted conflict.

The Ronald Reagan carrier strike group is operating in the South China Sea for the first time during its 2022 deployment on Wednesday, the US 7th Fleet said in a press release on the same day.

Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units, reads the press release.

According to monitoring conducted by the Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, the US carrier was operating to the south of the Nansha Islands by Wednesday.

The US carrier strike group's activities near the Nansha Islands came on the same day as the USS Benfold guided missile destroyer illegally entered Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands and was warned away by naval and air forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command.

The simultaneous US naval activities in different parts of the South China Sea are an escalated provocation from the US in the region that is now becoming routine and which risks an unwanted conflict, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US wants to provoke China in its core interests, create crises and hype tensions with the strategic goal of containing China, Song said.

While the US carrier strike group boasts strong combat capabilities and poses threats to China, the PLA has been preparing for them, Song said. Places like the South China Sea and East China Sea are close to the Chinese mainland, and the PLA has enough means to counter the US provocations, he said.

China operates "aircraft carrier killers" like the DF-21D and the DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles, under a complete combat system featuring powerful warships, warplanes and support units, observers said.

From Thursday to Saturday, China is holding a very important military activity in a large area in the Yellow Sea, the Maritime Safety Administration said in a navigational notice on Wednesday, without giving more details.