澳大利亚、加拿大和美国舰艇于4月12日至18日在南中国海进行了战术演练、直升机交叉甲板降落以及人员交流，旨在为支持“自由开放的印太地区”的“肩并肩2026”（Balikatan 2026）演习进行预演。
参与此次行动的舰艇包括澳大利亚皇家海军的图文巴号（HMAS Toowoomba）护卫舰、加拿大皇家海军的夏洛特敦号（HMCS Charlottetown）护卫舰、一架加拿大皇家空军的超级美洲豹（Super Puma）直升机，以及美国海军的阿什兰号（USS Ashland）船坞登陆舰，舰上搭载了阿什兰特遣部队的陆战队员。
阿什兰号指挥官亚当·皮普尔斯中校表示，这些活动为盟军提供了“与盟友和伙伴交流的绝佳机会”，提升了互操作性和信息共享能力。参与的官兵们“致力于维护地区安全”。
这些演练是4月20日“肩并肩2026”演习开始前的预备行动。菲律宾武装部队重申，此次整体演习“性质是防御性的”，旨在确保并保护其合法权益。
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Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday for talks to strengthen trilateral maritime security cooperation, South Korea's Navy said. The meeting included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who held bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner. The discussions occurred amid Middle East tensions and U.S. requests for support in the Strait of Hormuz.
Balikatan 2026, the largest edition yet, opened in the Philippines on April 20 with over 17,000 troops from the Philippines, United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and France. It marks the first participation of Japan Self-Defense Forces troops on Philippine soil since World War II. The three-week exercises focus on interoperability and maritime operations amid global tensions.
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Japan, the United States, and the Philippines held their first joint military drills near the Bashi Channel, the waterway between the Philippines and Taiwan, earlier this week. The naval and aerial exercises took place under the framework of the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) from Feb. 20 through Thursday.
South Korea's Navy launched maneuvering drills this week to honor service members killed in Yellow Sea clashes with North Korea and to sharpen combat readiness. The four-day exercise, set to conclude Friday, included a Thursday ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the Cheonan corvette sinking.
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Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. Marine Corps began a joint drill called “Iron Fist” on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Sunday. The exercise simulates defending and recapturing a remote island, involving about 1,800 personnel. It is the first time the drill is being held on Tanegashima Island.