US, Asean kick off first joint naval drills

The United States and ten Southeast Asian countries kicked off maritime drills yesterday, as part of a joint exercise extending into the flashpoint South China Sea with eight warships, four aircraft and more than a thousand personnel. The first Asean-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) between the regional bloc and Washington will last for five days, starting at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand and ending in Singapore. The drills come at a time of stepped-up US engagement in the region and tensions between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea.