China has said the U.S. and Australia were “flexing their muscles” with recent naval drills in the South China Sea, underscoring Beijing’s sensitivity over the strategic waterway it claims as its own, the Military Times reports.
The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur and the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat concluded a week of joint operations in the South China Sea. Those included maneuvering drills along with resupplying vessels, cross-deck helicopter operations and live-fire gunnery exercises.
