The Pentagon claimed it can "walk and chew gum at the same time" when asked how long the U.S. will go without an aircraft carrier group in the Indo-Pacific region.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder was asked by Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Tuesday how long he expected there would not be an aircraft carrier strike group in the Indo-Pacific. She also asked if not having a carrier in the region was risky.

"Well, look, you know, as we look at global force management and as we look at requirements around the world in support of our national security interests, we're always taking great care to make sure that we can cover those commitments to include, in our priority theater, which is the Indo-Pacific region," Ryder said. "And, so, we have a significant amount of capability there to include a large naval presence."

Two carrier strike groups — the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln — are in the Middle East as part of America’s commitment "to support Israel’s defense against threats from Iran and its regional partners and proxies," according to the Pentagon.

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Both carriers are in the Gulf of Oman.

Ryder told reporters the two carrier groups would remain in the region to provide additional capability and capacity to protect U.S. forces, support Israel’s defense and be ready for a variety of contingencies.

In May, the USS Ronald Reagan departed from its Japanese home port, wrapping up nearly nine years of deployment in the Indo-Pacific, where it played a key role in the U.S. effort to bolster defense ties with Japan and regional partners.

The Reagan will be replaced later this year by the USS George Washington carrier.

Griffin asked Ryder how long he expected a carrier gap in the Indo-Pacific.

"I'm not going to get into deployment timelines for operations security reasons, but the bottom line is we can walk and chew gum at the same time," Ryder said.

Last week, Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships collided at sea, damaging at least two vessels, the latest in increasingly alarming confrontations in the disputed South China Sea.

The Philippines’ National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said two of the coast guard ships, BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engaño, "encountered unlawful and aggressive maneuvers" from Chinese coast guard vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak islands, which are occupied by Filipino forces, in the contested region.

Beijing is rapidly expanding its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its territorial claims, giving rise to more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, though it is also involved in longtime territorial disputes with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

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US did not directly defend Israel in Hezbollah attack, Pentagon says

The U.S. did not shoot down incoming rockets or drones when Hezbollah launched a major attack on Israel over the weekend, but American officials did provide intelligence support, the Pentagon said Monday.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters the U.S. provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to track incoming Hezbollah attacks but “did not conduct any kinetic operations, as they were not required.”

“The U.S. is prepared, as we’ve demonstrated in the past, to to use force in order to support the defense of Israel,” he said. “In this particular situation, given the threat that was launched from Lebanese Hezbollah, there was no requirement for the U.S. to employ any of our munitions or capabilities to help defend.

“In other words, Israel was able to do that with its own organic capabilities and systems,” Ryder told reporters.

The U.S. and regional allies helped defend Israel when Iran launched some 300 missiles and drones at Israel in a massive April attack.

Some 100 Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Lebanon early Sunday morning in what Israel called a preemptive strike ahead of a major Hezbollah attack.

While the U.S. provided intelligence support to track incoming Hezbollah attacks, the U.S. did not provide intelligence for the advance strike by Israel, Ryder said.

“That was an Israeli decision to conduct those preemptive strikes based on information that they clearly had,” he said. “The U.S. was not a part of that.”

But American and Israeli forces “continue to maintain very frequent and close communication” as the Middle East remains tense, he added.

Despite the Israeli strikes, Hezbollah still managed to fire some 300 rockets and drones toward what it claimed were Israel’s military sites.

Israel said one of its soldiers died from shrapnel or an Israeli interceptor, while two Hezbollah fighters and one allied fighter were killed in the Israeli attacks.

Both sides have not sought to escalate tensions any further after the deadly round of attacks, which saw the heaviest exchange of fire yet since fighting erupted between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel following the outbreak of the Gaza war last October.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asserted Sunday that his militia group was successful in retaliating for Israel’s killing of top military commander Fuad Shukr, though Nasrallah did not rule out another attack.

Iran has also vowed to respond to Israel for the death of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, and the Houthis are expecting to take revenge for Israel’s deadly bombing of Yemen.

Ryder said the U.S. continues to take all those threats seriously, and noted the Pentagon has extended the deployment of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group, which is in the region along with the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and other assets.

“We continue to assess that there is a threat of attack,” he said, “and we again remain well postured to be able to support Israel’s defense.”

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