The US, along with its NATO and Indo-Pacific allies, are holding a multilateral exercise at sea near China. The drills involving six countries, including the US, the UK and Japan, will see warships capable of launching F-35 stealth fighter jets in action in the Western Pacific. The multilateral drills, which commenced on August 4, involves the US warships USS George Washington & USS America, the UK carrier HMS Prince of Wales and the Japanese carrier JS Kaga. In addition to American, British and Japanese warships, the Australian, Norwegian and Spanish navies are participating. The allied F-35 carrier drill comes after China flexed its rapidly growing naval power in the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, China and Russia have wrapped up their five-day Joint Sea-2025 naval drills near Vladivostok, Russia on August 4. The two allies have now proceeded to conduct a maritime joint patrol in the Western Pacific on August 5, China’s state TV reported. n18oc_world n18oc_crux0:00 INTRODUCTION1:18 NAVAL DRILLS TO COUNTER CHINA2:50 CHINA SLAMS US, ALLIES FOR ‘UNDERMINING PEACE’4:14 CHINA, RUSSIA CONCLUDE NAVAL DRILLS