US P-8 spy plane deployed to Singapore

The United States has deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane to Singapore for the first time. It is the latest in a series of US military actions seen as a response to China’s increasingly assertive claims over territory in the South China Sea. The US says it will also base a military reconnaissance plane at […]

The United States has deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane to Singapore for the first time.
It is the latest in a series of US military actions seen as a response to China’s increasingly assertive claims over territory in the South China Sea.
The US says it will also base a military reconnaissance plane at Singapore’s Paya Lebar air base.
US P-8s already operate from Japan and the Philippines, and surveillance flights have taken off from Malaysia.
The P-8 was deployed on Monday, and will remain in Singapore until 14 December.
In addition to the P-8 deployment, the US says it will operate a military plane, either a P-8 Poseidon or a P-3 Orion, from Singapore for the foreseeable future, rotating planes on a quarterly basis.
The US-Singapore agreement, announced after a meeting in Washington on Monday between US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, also covers co-operation on counter-terrorism, fighting piracy, and disaster relief.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the US was “pushing regional militarisation”, which did “not accord with the joint long-term interests” of the region.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, putting it in territorial dispute with several countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, among others. It has been building islands, equipped with runways, in the area.