Seoul, South Korea CNN —A dozen United States and Japanese warships, including two US aircraft carriers, have been putting on a show of military might this week in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan. The US Navy aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt were joined by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Ise, seven US guided-missile destroyers and two US cruisers for what the Navy calls a Multi-Large Deck Event (MLDE). An F/A-18E Super Hornet takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during exercises in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31. Potential maritime flashpointsThat broad area reaches as far south as islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine vessels have been in recent confrontations. “The coercive pressure campaign against Taiwan continues, and we’re watching it in the wake of the elections,” Aquilino told the Pacific Forum.

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