Manila, Aug. 4 -- A US Navy carrier strike group headed by the USS George Washington (CVN-73) took part in the 17th "multilateral maritime cooperative activity" (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.

In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, AFP spokesperson for the WPS Navy reservist Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the 17th MMCA was conducted from July 21 to 25 and took place "in the vicinity of the waters west of Zambales, close to Bajo de Masinloc."

"The US had a carrier strike group, that's a large formation of warships. Japan had one warship. There were also two US Coast Guard cutters," he added.

He described a US Navy carrier strike group as the "most ...