The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday that it will commence rare three-carrier strike force exercises in the Western Pacific starting this weekend and coinciding with the final leg of President Donald Trump's Asia tour.
The exercises, which will run from Saturday through Tuesday, will involve the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Ronald Reagan as well as the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt strike groups.
Preparations were underway to have Self-Defense Force ships and aircraft join the exercise, Kyodo News quoted a Japanese government source as saying.