In a show of strength in waters south of China and close to North Korea, the US Navy announced on Thursday that two US aircraft carriers with about 150 fighter planes were carrying out "complex" war games in the Philippine Sea.
The US Seventh Fleet said in a statement that the US-based aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan" and the US-based carrier John C. Stennis are engaged in air, naval and anti-submarine operations.
The US Navy has already carried out such exercises, including maneuvers conducted by three aircraft carriers last year, when tensions escalated with North Korea, Reuters reported.
The latest exercises, which coincide with US Vice President Mike Pence's visit to the region, come as nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea remain stuck amid a trade dispute with China.
The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Rear Admiral Philip Sawyer, said: "It provides the payment of two combat groups accompanied by two aircraft carriers at the same time, an unprecedented naval combat force."
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan also took part in the largest exercises in and around Japan, earlier this month with the participation of dozens of US and Japanese ships, hundreds of aircraft and thousands of military personnel.
