In Pictures: Marines Amphibious And Air Assault Exercise

Operating in the East China Sea the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, has been conducting a series of exercises designed to test both the ship's Expeditionary Strike Group and Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The operations, undertaken during a routine patrol, are aimed at enhancing the US Navy's warfighting readiness and forward posture as a response force in a region that is becoming increasingly hostile.

North Korean missile launches and China's military build-up have raised tensions, not least because of the latter's rapid building of military bases on man-made islands in the South China Sea.

China's new aircraft carrier has also been conducting patrols in recent months as Beijing's modernisation and expansion of its military continues apace.

The Liaoning, a former Soviet vessel, is understood to now be combat ready and carries a total of 36 aircraft, including 24 J-15 fighter jets and a number of military helicopters.

Previously described by Chinese media as a surface platform for training and tests, the state-run Global Times says the carrier now has "a real combat capacity".   It quotes a government official, Li Dongyou, as saying Liaoning is "constantly prepared for war".

The Wasp-class USS Bonhomme Richard carries 1100 sailors and 1800 marines, along with 42 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters and 5 AV-8B Harriers.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Harrier pilots from the ship carried out over 500 combat sorties, dropping 79,000kg of ordnance. The vessel has also assisted in a number of humanitarian crises including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the capsizing of a South Korean ferry in 2014.

Pictures Courtesy: Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Jesse Marquez Magallanes