SYDNEY, July 23 (Reuters) - United States Navy personnel from a newly commissioned U.S. combat ship paraded through Australia's capital on Sunday, as the two allies carry out war games amid China's military build-up in the region. "It's such an honour and a privilege to be able to do this," Captain of the USS Canberra Blue Crew, Will Ashley, told ABC television. "It's a culmination of not just the ship naming, of honouring the city, but the previous HMAS Canberra that was lost in World War Two." The Australian Capital Territory "Freedom of Entry" parade came after a commissioning ceremony for the USS Canberra on Saturday at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbour. Under the AUKUS project announced in March, the United States and Britain have agreed to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

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Persons: Will Ashley, Sam McKeith, Stefica Nicol, William Mallard Organizations: SYDNEY, United States Navy, Independence, Royal Australian Navy, U.S, Marine, USS Canberra Blue, ABC, Australian Capital Territory, USS Canberra, Talisman Sabre, Australia, Stefica Nicol Bikes, Thomson Locations: U.S, Guadalcanal, Canberra, Sydney Harbour, Australia, China, United States, Britain, Sydney