U.S.-Japanese Naval Drills Currently Underway in the Philippines Sea

Two United States aircraft carriers are currently conducting naval military drills with a Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Ise in the Philippine Sea. This is the first time since November that two U.S. strike groups have participated in practice maneuvers, dating back to November 2023. The exercises focus on enhancing the maneuverability of the warships and conducting air defense drills. The time allotted for this joint display of capability was between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1.