U.S. will ignore China’s claims, admiral says
Patrols to keep flying over disputed islands of South China Sea
“The angst that I sense in the region and that friends share with me comes from the lack of transparency.” Adm. Scott Swift
The Navy’s top commander in the Pacific said Tuesday that his forces will keep flying patrols over disputed islands in the South China Sea despite China’s warnings to steer clear of them.
“Where there are disputed claims, we don’t take a position,” said Adm. Scott Swift, who took over as commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in May. “But we will continue to exercise the rights of the United States and any nation to conduct operations in international waters.”
Scott arrived Tuesday in Tokyo on a tour that included an unusual reconnaissance flight over territory where China is building at least seven artificial islands in areas of the South China Sea that it and five other countries claim as their territory and where China has challenged U.S. reconnais- sance missions.
As commander of the Pacific Fleet, based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Swift is responsible for an area stretching from the U.S. West Coast to India, and from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica.
Swift said the majority of dayto-day dealings with Chinese naval forces are conducted in a professional manner, yet China’s uncertain intentions in the region are causing concern. “The angst that I sense in the region and that friends share with me comes from the lack of transparency,” he said.
Saturday, Swift took part in a seven-hour flight above the South China Sea in a P-8 Poseidon aircraft, a new high-tech reconnaissance plane.