Of late, the Western Pacific has seen both the US and Australia boost their military presence in a bid to prevent China from gaining greater influence in the South China Sea, a strategic, extraordinarily rich in natural resources passageway that has had local territory claimants face off.
Australia is planning to construct a new deep-water port in its north that would be able to accommodate US marines in a bid to help address China’s ambitions in the region, ABC reported Monday citing a number of defence and government officials as saying.
#USSRonaldReagan, #JMSDF ships conduct bilateral exercises in South China Sea: https://t.co/4ecLR1EC3A #NavyPartnerships @US7thFleet @JMSDF_PAO pic.twitter.com/Qcf3GjdHU2
— U.S. Pacific Fleet (@USPacificFleet) June 24, 2019