US supercarrier conducts exercise with Australia, Japan in Philippine Sea

A day after the US House of Representatives slammed China’s “aggression against India” in the Galwan Valley, US supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan on Tuesday (July 21) carried out a joint exercise with two QUAD members — Australia and Japan — in the Philippine Sea, Hindustan Times reported.

On Monday (July 20), a fleet of Indian naval warships carried out a military drill with a US navy carrier strike group led by nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, amid India’s border row with China. The USS Nimitz is the world’s largest warship.

Four frontline warships of the Indian Navy participated in the “PASSEX” exercise when the US carrier strike group was transiting through the Indian Ocean Region on its way from the South China Sea. India carried out similar exercises with the Japanese navy last month.

The Indian Navy has increased its surveillance missions and beefed up operational deployment in the Indian Ocean region. It is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast-evolving regional security landscape, officials had said.

Navies from the US, India, Australia, Japan and France have been deepening their mutual cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in view of China’s growing attempt to expand military influence in the resource-rich region. The navies of India, the US and Japan are set to participate in Exercise Malabar, a trilateral naval exercise led by India, in November.