USS Canberra
\n SYDNEY
\nThe United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China\u2019s expanding regional reach.
\nThe Independence-class littoral combat ship \u2014 named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the US Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942 \u2014 was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbor, officially joining the US Navy\u2019s active fleet.
\n\u201cAustralians can be proud that this ship, designed in Western Australia by local industry and named after HMAS Canberra, is being commissioned here for the first time in the history of the United States Navy,\u201d Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.
\nThe commissioning of the US ship in Australian waters reflected \u201cour shared commitment to upholding the rules-based order,\u201d he added.
\nThe ceremony comes amid biennial Talisman Sabre military exercises between the US and Australia, seen as a show of force and unity as China increasingly asserts power in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
USS Canberra SYDNEY The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China\u2019s expanding regional reach. The Independence-class littoral combat ship \u2014 named after a Royal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n