“The visit strengthened the already positive alliance between the US and Japan…It also demonstrated the Navy's commitment to regional stability and maritime security in the US 7th Fleet area of operations,” the release said.
In a regularly scheduled six-month deployment to the Western Pacific, which started on December 23, Charlotte will conduct missions to strengthen “theater security,” the Navy said.
The US submarine deployment to the Yokosuka naval base comes at a time of tensions with China following the November mission by the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer that sailed within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese-built artificial island in the South China Sea.
With a crew of some 150 people, the submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, strike warfare, and mine warfare, according to the Navy.
