The new US commander of the Pacific Fleet joined a seven-hour surveillance flight over the South China Sea on board one of America's newest spy planes, a move over the weekend that will likely annoy China.
Adm Scott Swift joined the surveillance mission on board a P-8A Poseidon plane yesterday to witness the aircraft's full range of capabilities, the US Pacific Fleet said today.
The Navy has acquired and plans to purchase more of the versatile aircraft to replace its aging P-3 Orion fleet.
The plane can be used for a range of undertakings, including anti-submarine warfare, and surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
US Navy Capt Charlie Brown, a Pacific Fleet public affairs officer who flew with Swift on board the P-8A, said by telephone that the admiral "was pleased with the capabilities of the Poseidon."
Brown did not provide other details of the flight, like whether they flew over disputed areas where China has undertaken massive island-building that Washington has asked Beijing to stop.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila had no immediate reaction to the Pacific Fleet commander taking part in the South China Sea surveillance flight.
In May, a US Navy P-8A was shooed away by radio callers, who identified themselves as being from the Chinese navy, when the surveillance aircraft flew over a disputed area where China has been undertaking island-building works, according to a CNN reporter who was on board the plane, which had taken off from the Philippines.
Swift took part in the surveillance mission yesterday after a visit to Manila, where he met top Philippine military officials.
He flew to South Korea over the weekend and will visit Japan before returning to Hawaii, where the US Pacific Fleet is headquartered. He assumed command of the fleet, among the world's largest, in May.
Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin welcomed Swift's joining the South China Sea surveillance mission, saying it showed America's commitment to come to the aid of allies locked in a territorial dispute with China.
"Militarily, we are nothing against China," Gazmin said. "That's why we have been asking our allies to assist us."
During an interview with reporters in Manila on Friday, Swift assured US allies that American forces are well-equipped and ready to respond to any contingency in the South China Sea, where territorial disputes have set off widespread uncertainties.
