beijing america ally asia silent wednesday confusion u.s. aircraft carrier group suppose head toward north korea show force actually complete train exercise australia many chinese take social media joke american imperialism paper tiger say one user weibo china version twitter aircraft carrier sleep-walking say another u.s. military pacific command explain tuesday carl vinson strike group first complete shorter-than-initially plan period train australia proceed western pacific order say u.s. president donald trump say last week order strike group head korean water amid talk unpredictable north korea likely conduct nuclear long-range ballistic missile test comment detail u.s. operation assets military official say seoul capital south korea north korea remain technically war south unite state 1950-53 korean war end armistice peace treaty sign japan main u.s. ally region comment mix-up china foreign ministry decline comment regular brief singapore-based security expert ian storey say countries region would find confusion strike group location unsettle perplex disconnect white house pacific command may operational issue distinctly odd say storey base iseas yusof ishak institute fact carl vinson strike group vicinity korean peninsula undermine trump administration tough approach towards pyongyang north korea refer mix-up say unite state ally mess us nuclear power aircraft carrier unite state puppet group loudly advertise nothing pile scrap metal face revolutionary force mighty power say rodong sinmun official newspaper north rule workers party ally silent jib china u.s. carrier mix-up