U.S. holds naval exercises with Indo-Pacific allies amid PRC tension
The United States is conducting two military exercises in Indo-Pacific waters involving allies Australia, India and Japan, the U.S. Navy said in mid-July 2020.
The exercises come as tension between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is intensifying and days after the U.S. said the PRC’s claims of sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea were illegal. (Pictured: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force training ships JS Kashima and JS Shimayuki conduct a passing exercise (PASSEX) with Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea on July 7, 2020.)
The U.S. has long opposed the PRC’s expansive territorial claims on the strategic waterway, sending warships regularly to demonstrate freedom of navigation.
The PRC opposes such exercises and said the U.S. rejection of its claims in the South China Sea raised tensions and undermined regional stability.
Two U.S. aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan, were deployed to the South China Sea twice in July, while the Nimitz also was in the Indian Ocean for exercises with the Indian Navy, the U.S. Navy said, in the latest sign of growing cooperation between the forces.
Rear Adm. James A. Kirk, commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, said in a statement that drills with the Indian Navy improve interoperability.
“While operating together, the U.S. and Indian naval forces conducted high-end exercises designed to maximize training and interoperability, including air defense,” the U.S. Navy said.
India’s relations with the PRC have also been strained after a deadly clash on their disputed border in the Himalayas in June 2020, prompting calls in India for closer security ties with the U.S. and its allies, including Japan.
The naval drills were carried out near India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, off the north end of the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes for trade and fuel, an Indian source said. India has a military base on the islands.
The U.S. Navy said the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was in the Indian Ocean in support of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region.
Separately, the U.S. strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan was carrying out drills with naval forces from Japan and Australia in the Philippine Sea, U.S. and Australian officials said.
The exercises were due to end July 23, Australia’s Defence Department said.
The U.S. will hold naval exercises with India and Japan in the Bay of Bengal later in 2020, and Australia might join.
