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| P-8A Poseidon (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor
ARLINGTON, Va. — Malaysia has offered the use of a base in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo to the United States as a site for detachments of Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
Speaking Sept. 8 about the Asia-Pacific strategic rebalance to an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) ADM Jonathan W. Greenert said that “recently, the Malaysians have offered us to fly detachments of P-8s out of East Malaysia. You can see the closeness to the South China Sea. So we have opportunities and we ought to continue to nurture them.”
A staging site in East Malaysia would enable the Navy’s maritime patrol aircraft easier access for operating over the South China Sea and shipping lanes such as the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, through which much of the world’s commerce passes.
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