170309-N-BL637-568 EAST CHINA SEA (March 9, 2017) The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), left, transits the East China Sea with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Sazanami (DD 113), foreground, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), right, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Murasame-class destroyer JS Samidare (DD 106). The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano/Released)