US Navy carrier drills with Japanese, Indian navy in Sea of Japan; deepens cooperation with India

Tokyo: The US Navy carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, conducted three days of drills with a Japanese destroyer and two Indian warships in the Sea of Japan, Japan's navy said on Tuesday.

The exercise involving five ships, which ended Monday, came amid heightened tension in the region over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear tests and as US President Donald Trump began a 12-day tour of Asia beginning in Japan on Sunday.

"The exercise helped improve fighting skills and deepened cooperation with India," Japan's Maritime Self Defence Force said in a press release.

The 100,000-ton Reagan, which is based in Japan carries around 70 combat aircraft and is the US Navy's most powerful warship in Asia.

The Reagan will join two other carriers in the Western Pacific, the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt, in a potent reminder to Pyongyang of the US ability to rapidly mobilize military force, US officials told Reuters earlier.