(UPDATED) The United States contests China's extensive territorial claims in the region, accusing it of militarizing the South China Sea and trying to intimidate neighbors
The exercise comes days after China condemned the sailing of the destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in what the United States calls a freedom of navigation operation - the first such mission by the U.S. navy since President Joe Biden took office.
The US President wants the informal group known as the Quad - comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States - to push back further against Beijing. On Tuesday two US carrier groups conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea, the first such action by the navy under Biden.