WorldU.S., France, Japan and Australia hold first combined naval drill in Asia

© 2018 maps4media BAY OF BENGAL, COAST OF BURMA: This is an enhanced Satellite Image of the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Burma (Myanmar.) (Photo enhanced by maps4media via Getty Images) TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Warships from France, Japan, Australia and the United States held their first ever combined naval exercise on Thursday, in a new show of force in Asian waters by the United States and its allies who are wary of China's growing power.

The French aircraft carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle and its escorts, were joined in the Bay of Bengal by five other naval vessels, including a Japanese helicopter carrier, a U.S. guided missile destroyer and an Australian submarine.

India and France hold biggest naval exercises -- with one eye on China

With the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the centre, France and India on Friday stepped up their biggest naval exercises as the Indian Ocean's strategic shipping lanes draw ever more envious eyes. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle) { medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true); }); Without naming the Asian giant, India and France worry about China's growing economic clout and its territorial claims that have caused tensions in the South China Sea.

TOKYO — Warships from France , Japan , Australia and the United States held their first ever combined naval exercise on Thursday, in a new show of force in Asian waters by the United States and its allies who are wary of China' s growing power. The French aircraft carrier, FS Charles de

Australia will join the annual Malabar naval exercises to be held off the Indian coast with Japan and the U . S . this year, according to statements from The decision to include Australia in the drills -- the first time all members of the regional grouping known as the Quad will be engaged militarily -- comes

They practiced formation sailing, live fire drills, and search and rescue, according to a news release from the U.S. Seventh Fleet.

As China's military power grows in the region, the United States and Japan are looking to forge stronger defense ties with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, including France and the Britain, that could help counterbalance China's expanding influence.

The Japanese carrier, the Izumo, and the U.S. destroyer, the USS William P. Lawrence, last week joined vessels from India and the Philippines for exercises in the South China Sea, most of which China claims.

Those maneuvers in waters through which around a third of the world's maritime trade flows, came after two other U.S. warships sailed near islands in the region claimed by China, prompting a protest from Beijing.

China claims almost all of the strategic South China Sea with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam pushing competing claims to parts of it.

The United States, Japan, France and Australia do not have any territorial claims there.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Michael Perry)