US, Indian navies conduct joint military operations as tensions simmer with China
The U.S. Navy says the drills are intended to promote security in region
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The United States and Indian navies on Monday conducted joint military operations in the Bay of Bengal as the rivalry between America and China continues to intensify in the region.
The U.S. Navy said Tuesday it would conduct other military exercises this week involving allies Japan and Australia.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The cooperative exercises with India involved the Nimitz carrier strike group, which consists of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, and two guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson.
On the Indian side, the destroyer INS Rana, two stealth frigates named INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik, and the missile corvette INS Kamorta participated in the exercises.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz cruises towards the port of Chennai, 01 July 2007. The USS Nimitz is one of the word's largest battleships. (file picture) (AFP via Getty)
The U.S. Navy described the drills as “high-end exercises designed to maximize training and interoperability, including air defense,” adding that the operations are designed to “provide security throughout the region.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was a privilege to operate with the Indian navy,” said Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander, of the carrier strike group in a statement.
The joint exercises follow a tense few days after the U.S. said China's claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea were illegal.
The U.S. has been extremely vocal about China's expansive territorial claims and often sends warships through the strategic waterway. China claims the U.S. rejection of its territorial claims has undermined stability in the area.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Monday's military drills also come as tensions between China and the U.S. have increased.
China has faced global backlash, led largely by the United States, for downplaying and failing to contain the coronavirus, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. China has pushed back strongly on the allegations and in turn, has accused the U.S. of using the global pandemic to play politics.
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Tensions between China and India are also high following a deadly confrontation in a disputed territory in the Ladakh region, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead and dozens of others injured. Both sides had been facing off for several weeks along the remote stretch of the 2,100-mile Line of Actual Control, the border established between the two countries following a war in 1962.