About 2, 200 Marines are deployed in the Philippine Sea on the USS Bonhomme Richard and two escorts.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

CNN's Martin Savidge aboard the USS Gonzalez in the Adriatic Sea said six Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired in rapid succession from the Gonzalez and nearby USS Philippine Sea.

CNN: NATO brushes aside Yugoslav offer, targets troops

Elsewhere in the South China Sea, Beijing's patrol vessels regularly face off with Vietnamese and Philippine ships over fishing rights and natural resources exploration.

WSJ: Michael Auslin: Beijing's Paranoid Worldview