US - France - Japan to Conduct Naval Exercise to Bolster Defense in Strategic Philippine Sea.

According to a statement released by the Commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet on February 6, 2025, the U.S. Navy will participate in Exercise Pacific Steller 2025, a Multi-Large Deck Event (MLDE) hosted by the French Navy in the Philippine Sea, beginning February 8, 2025. This large-scale naval exercise will bring together the U.S. Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG), the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG), and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for joint operations designed to enhance interoperability, demonstrate power projection, and reinforce regional security. The exercise underscores the deepening strategic cooperation between the United States, France, and Japan in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific, a region of increasing geopolitical significance.
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The Pacific Steller 2025 exercise brings together some of the world’s most advanced naval assets, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), showcasing allied maritime power and interoperability in the Indo-Pacific. (Picture source: U.S. DoD)

The inclusion of three of the world's most advanced naval forces highlights the growing strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific. As geopolitical tensions continue to shape military posturing in the area, exercises like Pacific Steller 2025 serve as essential platforms for refining joint operational capabilities, ensuring seamless cooperation between allied navies, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States, France, and Japan to stability, freedom of navigation, and a rules-based international order. With increasing territorial disputes and military assertiveness by regional powers, these exercises emphasize the ability of allied naval forces to operate in high-threat maritime environments and deter potential challenges to regional security.

The Pacific Steller 2025 exercise will feature some of the world’s most advanced naval assets, with participating large-deck ships including the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), the French carrier FS Charles De Gaulle, and Japan’s Izumo-class multi-functional destroyer JS Kaga (DDH-184). The U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 1 (CSG-1) is composed of the USS Carl Vinson, along with the embarked staffs of CSG-1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1, Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110). The French Carrier Strike Group includes FS Charles De Gaulle, its embarked French Strike Force staff and carrier air wing, an air-defense destroyer, multi-mission frigates, a supply ship, an attack submarine, and a detachment of Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft. The French carrier air wing is equipped with Rafale Marine (F4) fighter aircraft, E-2C Hawkeye, and Dauphin, Caiman Marine, and Panther helicopters.

The Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2) aboard USS Carl Vinson brings nine squadrons of cutting-edge aircraft, including the F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growler, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, CMV-22 Osprey, and MH-60R/S Seahawks. This powerful force, combined with French and Japanese naval aviation assets, ensures the exercise will integrate multi-domain airpower, providing advanced capabilities for carrier strike operations, air defense drills, and maritime interdiction missions.

MLDEs are among the most complex and strategically important naval exercises in modern warfare. They involve large-deck warships, such as aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, which function as mobile airbases, command centers, and power-projection platforms. The presence of multiple aircraft carriers in a single exercise enhances multi-domain coordination, enabling forces to conduct carrier strike operations, air defense drills, anti-submarine warfare, and high-threat maneuvering. The integration of fifth-generation fighter capabilities, such as the F-35C Lightning II from the U.S. Navy, the Rafale Marine (F4) from the French Navy, and the F-35B from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, underscores the growing role of advanced aviation in modern maritime warfare.

The Philippine Sea is a strategically vital maritime region that serves as a gateway to the Western Pacific, the South China Sea, and critical global trade routes. It is located near Taiwan, the East and South China Seas, and key U.S. military bases in Japan, Guam, and the Philippines, making it a focal point for security operations in the Indo-Pacific. Conducting Pacific Steller 2025 in these waters sends a strong message of deterrence, unity, and commitment to upholding international law. The Indo-Pacific has become an area of global security concerns, marked by territorial disputes, contested maritime claims, and growing military activity. This exercise reinforces the shared goal of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific, where freedom of navigation and regional stability are protected.

France’s involvement in Pacific Steller 2025 is particularly notable, as it reflects Europe’s increasing engagement in Indo-Pacific security affairs. As a Pacific nation with overseas territories such as New Caledonia and French Polynesia, France has a vested interest in regional stability. The deployment of the French Carrier Strike Group, led by FS Charles De Gaulle, as part of Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, highlights the broader international effort to strengthen alliances, enhance military cooperation, and deter potential threats.

This exercise follows a growing trend of multinational naval cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. In August 2024, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducted an MLDE with the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550), marking the first-ever such event between the U.S. and Italian navies in the Indo-Pacific. As maritime security challenges continue to evolve, stronger alliances and joint training exercises are critical for ensuring rapid and coordinated responses to potential crises.

By participating in exercises like Pacific Steller 2025, the United States, France, and Japan are not only enhancing their own military readiness but also reinforcing their commitment to a security framework that extends beyond national borders. These joint operations demonstrate that the Indo-Pacific is not just a regional concern but a global strategic priority that requires active engagement from like-minded nations.

As Pacific Steller 2025 unfolds, it will stand as a testament to the strength and resolve of allied naval forces in securing a stable Indo-Pacific. The ability of the U.S., French, and Japanese naval forces to operate seamlessly in high-threat maritime environments, conduct integrated carrier strike operations, and respond to emerging security challenges will send a clear message of deterrence. With the U.S. 7th Fleet leading the effort, alongside the French Carrier Strike Group engaged in Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, and Japan reinforcing its regional security commitments, this exercise will further solidify the shared objective of ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, and governed by international law.