Twenty-one countries have begun naval exercises led by the United States in Singapore in Southeast Asia, coinciding with Chinese-Russian exercises, amid continuing tensions in the region due to the sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula.
The US military said that this year's exercises, which began on Tuesday, are aimed at encouraging countries to use their naval forces for what it described as capacity-building for humanitarian support missions, and in support of international laws and norms.
In addition to the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Brunei, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Maldives will participate in the 20th edition of these annual exercises. Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand and East Timor.
The US Seventh Fleet said - in a statement - that 10 ships and 400 personnel are participating in this year's course.
These exercises are taking place in conjunction with military exercises conducted by China and Russia in the Ningxia region, north-central China.
It is also taking place at a time when the United States is preparing to conduct exercises with South Korea, which angered its northern neighbor.
North Korea has warned its neighbor South Korea of what it described as a serious security crisis due to joint exercises with the United States, and considered that South Korea had missed the opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations.