Here's how the US military is sticking it to Beijing in the South China Sea

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano

China has for years been whittling away at the US military's asymmetrical advantage in conventional military strength with a naval buildup, building and militarizing artificial islands in the South China Sea, and creating systems and weapons custom built to negate the US's technological advantage.

By all indications, China is building aircraft carriers and getting ready to place surface-to-air missiles deep into the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China's neighbors have grown increasingly worried and timid as it cements a land grab in a shipping lane that sees $5 trillion in annual trade and has billions in resources, like oil, waiting to be exploited. 

Six countries lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, and the US isn't one of them. But the US doesn't need a dog in this fight to stand up for freedom of navigation and international law.

Here's how the US counters China in the region.

For the US, checking Beijing in the Pacific often means sailing carrier strike groups through the region — something the Navy has done for decades, whether China protests or not.

As Navy Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of 7th Fleet, said recently at a military conference: "We’re going to fly, sail, operate wherever international law allows."

The strike group has plenty of aircraft along with them, like this A F/A-18E Super Hornet and a nuclear-capable B-1B Lancer from Guam.