The United States has begun its largest naval exercise in 40 years, which analysts say is to send a signal to Russia and China that America can respond to aggression on many fronts at once, according to the American publication Stars and Stripes.
The exercise, dubbed the 2021 Large-Scale Exercise, is a return to similar Cold War maneuvers in the 1980s, demonstrating determination and new potential, said the US Navy Command in Europe and Africa and the US Sixth Fleet.
The training will last until August 16 and will cover 17 time zones. It will involve 36 ships, as well as military and civilian personnel. The maneuvers will involve five US navies and three Marine expeditionary units.
Only US troops will be involved in the first such exercises, but in the future it is planned to involve allies and partners in such maneuvers, the Navy said.