Dzirhan Mahadzir

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Liaoning Carrier Strike Group has conducted 170 sorties in the past week as the group trains in the Philippine Sea east of Luzon while shadowed by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Embarked fighter aircraft and helicopters were observed doing 80 take offs and landings May 26, 50 on Wednesday and 40 on Thursday, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office. Japanese destroyer JS Asahi (DD-119) shadowed the Chinese carrier strike group, which includes carrier CNS Liaoning (16), cruiser CNS Wuxi (104), frigate CNS Luohe (545), destroyer CNS Kaifeng (124) and fast combat support ship CNS

Specialized Marine Air-Ground Task Force Ashland recently completed a four-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific, returning to California in the past week. The Marine Corps element of TF Ashland returned Friday to Camp Pendleton, disembarking from amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48). The ship arrived Monday at its homeport of San Diego, just over four months after it departed Jan. 24. TF Ashland was comprised of Ashland and its crew, a command element from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a ground combat element from 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, a logistics combat element from Combat Logistics Regiment 17,

Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) will lead the U.S. participation in this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 exercise, the service announced. Held from June 24 to July 31 in and around the Hawaiian Islands, RIMPAC will include a total of 32 surface ships, five submarines with 31 nations participating in the drills. Theodore Roosevelt will lead a U.S. contingent comprising of cruiser USS Chosin (CG-65), destroyers USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), USS Decatur (DDG-73), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and USS Carl M. Levin (DDG-120), amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), submarines USS Charlotte (SSN-766) and USS Columbia

The U.S. Navy recently stood up two new commands to operate at the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia in support of Submarine Rotational Force-West. Submarine Squadron 3 (CSS-3), which previously operated out of Hawaii, was re-established Wednesday at HMAS Stirling to lay the groundwork for maintenance, logistics and operational support rotational U.S. and U.K. submarines as part of SRF-West, a trilateral military initiative between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom to have nuclear submarines operate out of Perth. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Stirling is a new command established on May 30 to provide

The George Washington Carrier Strike Group pulled into Guam on Tuesday marking the strike group’s first port visit of its spring patrol. The George Washington CSG, which includes aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and destroyers USS Benfold (DDG-65) and USS Shoup (DDG-86), arrived Tuesday in Guam for a scheduled port visit, according to a Navy news release. “Guam remains a critical nexus for the Navy’s carrier strike groups,” Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, commanding officer of George Washington, said in the release. “These sailors have been working very hard,

U.S. Marines joined Philippine, Japanese and South Korean forces on Monday for the start of Exercise Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat 10 – or Kamandag 10 – across the Philippine archipelago. Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D), Marine Rotational Force-South East Asia (MRF-SEA) and 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) are among 2,000 troops participating in Kamandag 10, which runs through July 1, the U.S. Marine Corps said. The U.S. Marines will operate alongside the Philippine Marine Corps, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps. There will also be observers from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, the

China’s Liaoning Carrier Strike Group returned Monday to its homeport of Qingdao, concluding a 40-day deployment to the South China Sea and Philippine Sea, the People’s Liberation Army Navy announced. “Back to Port: A Chinese PLA Navy’s task force led by aircraft carrier Liaoning (Hull 16) completed its 40-odd open-sea combat training in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific Ocean, and returned to home port in east China’s Qingdao city on Monday,” reads an announcement on the PLA’s official social media China Military Bugle. The Liaoning CSG deployed May 19 to the Philippine Sea following a stint of

The Liaoning CSG deployed May 19 to the Philippine Sea following a stint of operations in the South China Sea

The U.S. kicked off this week multinational exercise Valiant Shield 2026 and Marine Corps-Japan Ground Self-Defense Force exercise Resolute Dragon 26, two major Western Pacific exercises. Led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Valiant Shield 2026 began Monday and will run through July 1, taking place in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex. The biennial field training exercise is focused on integrating interoperability training in a multi-domain environment and will allow forces across the Indo-Pacific the opportunity to integrate Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force, and

North Korea commissioned its largest warship to date, the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon (51), in a ceremony Tuesday in the port city Nampho. The first-in-class Choe Hyon was built at Nampho Shipyard and launched on April 25, 2025. Prior to its commissioning, Choe Hyon conducted a number of sea trials and weapons tests, several of which were overseen by North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. “Today, June 23, 2026, is witnessing the first page being written in a new chapter of our Navy’s history of safeguarding the sacred maritime sovereignty of our state on the strength of invincible warships,” Kim