US, Japan and South Korea hold military exercises in the East China Sea

Several US and South Korean guided-missile destroyers and a Japanese warship have joined exercises in the disputed East China Sea that also involve China.

Rear Admiral Christopher Alexander, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, said the three countries conducted undersea warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue exercises as well as work focused on communications and data sharing.

These exercises will help improve communications between the US and its allies and “better prepare us for a crisis in the region,” he told reporters on Thursday aboard the Roosevelt.

F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier, which also has MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters. The journalists flew for more than an hour from Kadena Air Base, the center of US Pacific air power. Kadena is located on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, home to about half of the 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan.

In Beijing, China's foreign ministry said its head of Asian affairs met a top Japanese embassy official on Friday and expressed "deep concern" over "negative" issues during a trilateral meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House.

The move follows earlier statements by China accusing the US and Japan of tarnishing China’s image and calling on them to stop undermining peace and stability in the region, saying China would “resolutely defend” its security and economic interests.

The South Korean Navy said the exercise focused on improving the three countries' joint response to instability on the Korean Peninsula. It said the navy conducted anti-submarine drills to boost readiness against threats.

The trilateral US-Japan-South Korea drills in the East China Sea come after a quadrilateral exercise held in the South China Sea, where Japan joined the US, Australia and the Philippines.

Bui Huy (according to AP)