The U.S. Navy has commissioned its newest warship in Sydney, Australia, Reuters and others report.
The U.S. Navy held a commissioning ceremony for the Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Canberra at the Australian Naval Base in Sydney earlier in the day.
This is the first time a U.S. Navy ship has been commissioned in a foreign port.
The ship is named after the Australian Navy cruiser HMAS Canberra, which was sunk in 1942 while supporting the U.S. landings on Guadalcanal during World War II.
“The commissioning of a U.S. warship in Australian waters reflects our shared commitment to upholding a rules-based order,” said Australian Defense Minister Richard Males at the commissioning ceremony.
The Canberra’s commissioning comes as the United States and Australia are hosting the multinational exercise Talisman Sabre.
The exercises are intended to showcase military strength and unity in the face of China’s expanding power in the Indo-Pacific region, Reuters reports.
Fifteen countries participated in this year’s drills, including South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Indonesia.
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) fired a surface-to-surface missile off the eastern coast of Australia’s Jervis Bay on the day, 카지노사이트킴 while Germany contributed 210 paratroopers and marines to the drills.