WASHINGTON, February 8. /TASS/. The warships of the United States, Australia and Japan took part in joint drills in the waters of the South China Sea, Associated Press (AP) reported.

According to the news agency, the US guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn and combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords took part in the maneuvers. "This multinational sail fortifies our relationship between the US, Japan and Australian allies," the news agency quoted a senior US Navy official as saying. He pointed out that Washington, Tokyo and Canberra "promote transparency, rule of law, freedom of navigation and all principles that underscore security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."

Associated Press did not specify whether the exercises took place near islands claimed by China.

China has been locked in a decades-long dispute with several countries in the region over territorial ownership of a number of islands in the South China Sea, where significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered offshore.