The Maritime Self-Defense Force has kicked off its second quadrilateral naval exercise in less than two weeks, with warships — including Japan's largest flat-topped helicopter carrier Izumo — joining vessels from the Australian, French and U.S. navies in waters west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The joint drills, which began Sunday and are scheduled to run through Wednesday, saw the Izumo and the MSDF destroyer Murasame link up with the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, an Australian Navy frigate and submarine, and a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the MSDF said in a statement.
It comes on the heels of a multilateral exercise that saw the MSDF sail with ships from the U.S., India and the Philippines navies in the disputed South China Sea.