The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commenced a large globe-spanning military exercise on Aug. 3—the largest of its kind since the Cold War. The next day, China announced a large-scale drill in the South China Sea in response. “LSE 2021 is the first naval and amphibious large-scale exercise conducted since the Ocean Venture NATO exercises launched in 1981 during the Cold War,” U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet said in a July 27 statement. It added that the maritime military exercise, named Large-Scale Exercise 2021 (LSE 2021), will involve six naval and Marine Corps component commands, five U.S. numbered fleets, and three marine expeditionary forces across 17 time zones and run from Aug. 3 to Aug. 16. This includes approximately 36 live ships ranging from aircraft carriers to submarines, over 50 virtual units, and an unlimited array of constructive units, U.S. forces reported a day before commencement. On Aug. 4, …