The United States, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea are staging joint anti-submarine warfare drills amid talks between Japanese and South Korean leaders aimed at strengthening their alliance with Washington against threats from China and North Korea.
The Sea Dragon 23 exercises that started on Wednesday will culminate in more than 270 hours of in-flight training "ranging from tracking simulated targets to the final problem of tracking a U.S. Navy submarine," the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a news release.
The drills are being held as a competition, with the country winning the most points taking home the "Dragon Belt." With 50 to 70 ships and submarines, 150 aircraft and more than 27,000 sailors and marines ready to deploy at any given time, the 7th Fleet "routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region," it said.
The exercises also come as China's navy is taking part in joint search and rescue exercises in the Gulf of Oman with Iran and Russia, three of the countries most at odds with the United States.
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