US, Japan Conduct Joint Naval Drills

Japan's Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer JS Ise during a three-day maritime exercise between the US and Japan in the Philippine Sea (Credit: AFP)

The US and Japanese navies held joint exercises in the Philippine Sea this week, in a show of force as tensions with China and North Korea rise.

Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads over a raft of issues, from chips to tariffs, but both have been alarmed by the growing assertiveness of China's military in the Pacific.