Three aircraft carriers from three different countries are operating in the North Philippine Sea in a big show of force which the three navies probably think will have the Chinese quaking in their boots. Britain’s Royal Navy posted a picture of the U.S. Navy’s USS George Washington sailing alongside the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales and the Japanese JS Kaga, along with a large group of aircraft overhead. Also present was the USS America, classed as an assault ship but really a sort of down-sized aircraft carrier capable of carrying up to 20 U.S. Marine F-35B’s. “Allies and partners sailing as one,” the Royal Navy post said, reported Task & Purpose.
T&P cites the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force saying that the exercise is meant to train crews on cross-deck operations and anti-submarine warfare. According to reports from last week, U.S. F-35B’s operated from the Prince of Wales, while British F-35B’s landed on the Kaga. The nine-day operation will wrap up on Aug. 12. More than a dozen ships are taking part in the exercise. Leading the pack are the three carriers as well as the amphibious assault ship, which also has its own fighter jets and aircraft on board. Sailing behind the carriers and the assault ship are vessels from the Norwegian, Spanish and Australia navies.
A note of irony not mentioned by T&P: “Kaga”—the name of an ancient Japanese province—was also the name of one of the six Japanese aircraft carriers that launched the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. American dive bombers sank the Kaga along with three other Japanese carriers on June 4, 1942 during the Battle of Midway.
