Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83) transits the South China Sea, April 20, 2024. Howard, part of Carrier Strike Group Nine, is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations

SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 20, 2024) . U.S. 7th Fleet is the Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adina Phebus)