US, Indian & Japanese Navy Conduct Drills in Sea of Japan
The exercise involving five ships came amid heightened tension in the region over North Korea’s missile tests.
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The US Navy carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, conducted drills over three days with a Japanese destroyer and two Indian warships in the Sea of Japan, Japan's navy said on 7 November, Tuesday.
The exercise involving five ships, which ended on Monday, came amid heightened tension in the region over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear tests and as US President Donald Trump gears up for a 12-day tour of Asia beginning in Japan on Sunday.
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"The exercise helped improve fighting skills and deepened cooperation with India," Japan's Maritime Self Defence Force said in a press release.
The 100,000-ton Reagan, which is based in Japan and carries around 70 combat aircraft, is the US Navy's most powerful warship in Asia.
The Reagan will join two other carriers in the Western Pacific, the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt, in a potent reminder to Pyongyang of the US ability to rapidly mobilise military force, US officials told Reuters earlier.
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