The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson sails with a flotilla of U.S., Japanese and South Korean warships in the East China Sea, March 17, 2025. (Pablo Chavez/U.S. Navy)
The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group joined warships from Japan and South Korea for a four-day exercise in the East China Sea, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
At least seven warships from the three navies trained together through Thursday in formation sailing, communication operations, maritime interdiction, and air combat, along with staff exchanges, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Sarah Merrill said Friday.
All three countries are “committed to further strengthening trilateral security cooperation” through exercises, improved information sharing, and increased cooperation on ballistic missile defense, Merrill told Stars and Stripes in an email.
“Our ships and aircraft strengthen our combined deterrence by demonstrating our combat capabilities through integrated, high-end operations with our allies,” she wrote.
Additional training included anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and search-and-rescue drills, according to a Thursday news release from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The exercise took place in the East China Sea, the release said.
Participating ships interacted with foreign military assets at sea, but all interactions were “consistent with international norms and did not impact the exercise,” Merrill said.
“U.S. military vessels routinely interact with foreign warships and aircraft while operating throughout the region,” she wrote.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and the guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson.
South Korea dispatched the guided-missile destroyers ROKS Sejong the Great and ROKS Dae Jo-yeong, while Japan sent the destroyer JS Ikazuchi.
The trilateral drill overlapped with the larger Freedom Shield exercise but was unrelated, Merrill said.
Freedom Shield, an annual large-scale training that began March 10 and concluded Thursday, involved 19,000 South Korean troops and an unspecified number of U.S. personnel.
The Carl Vinson sent an F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter to a Freedom Shield airpower drill Thursday alongside two F-35As from the U.S. and South Korean air forces, according to a 7th Air Force news release.
