Sankei wrote that an MSDF destroyer is currently carrying out joint training with its counterparts from the U.S, France, and Australia in the Indian Ocean, saying that the first-ever quadrilateral naval exercise is apparently intended to hold China’s maritime advancement in the South China Sea in check. A total of 10 warships, including a French aircraft carrier and an Australian submarine, are conducting anti-submarine warfare and various other drills. An unnamed senior Japanese Defense Ministry official said that the French Navy’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is very significant.