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| USS Fitzgerald (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Jaime Laude
MANILA, Philippines - A US guided-missile destroyer on deployment in the South China Sea has dropped anchor at Subic Bay in Zambales yesterday.
The USS Fitzgerald of the US Carrier Strike Group 5 made a brief port call in Subic before taking part in the joint naval drill in South Korea.
“The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer arrived in Subic Bay for a brief port call that highlights the strong community and military connections between the Philippines and the United States,” the US embassy said.
Since February, USS Carl Vinzon has been conducting freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, particularly near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, an atoll located off Zambales which is now under de facto control of China.
The visiting warship is part of the destroyer squadron of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group 5 assigned to the US Pacific Fleet and permanently forward deployed to the US 7th Fleet.
Read the full story at PhilStar