U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units in the Pacific are carrying out a series of live-fire drills in the hotly contested South China Sea, in a public show of force in the face of ongoing Chinese expansion in the region.

Units attached to the U.S.S. Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit executed a series of air and sea-based defensive drills, designed to “improve their proficiency when integrating fires [support]” during potential combat operations in the Pacific.

The South China Sea has long been a flashpoint for tensions between the U.S. and its Pacific allies and China, who have reinforced unilateral territorial claims to the sea’s critical waterways by constructing man-made islands designed to support Chinese warplanes and naval ships. American allies like Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines have repeatedly disputed China’s claims in the region, accusing Beijing of attempting to co-opt the South China Sea through military means.

The exercises conducted by Navy and Marine Corps forces were geared toward defensive operations against possible threats posed to U.S. and allied forces in the South China Sea, according to a Marine Corps statement.

Aboard the U.S.S. Wasp and other Navy vessels attached to the amphibious ready group participated in live fire drills using the .25 and .50 caliber heavy machine guns mounted on the ship’s decks, Marine Corps officials said.

“Marines assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines expended rounds using Light Armored Vehicles’ M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain guns and .50 caliber mounted machine guns on Humvees,” officials added

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/28/live-fire-drills-in-south-china-sea-showcase-us-mi/