U.S. and Japan conduct joint naval drills

The U.S. 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.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has vowed to seize the island, by force if necessary, ramping up pressure including with major military drills in the Taiwan Strait.