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| Image: Flickr User - Greg Bishop |
The United States Navy is eyeing to use the joined force of its Pacific 7th Fleet and the 3rd Fleet — against rising tensions in Asia, a senior naval officer on Tuesday told the Nikkei Asian Review.
As quoted by Assian Review, Adm. Scott Swift, the four-star commander of the Pacific Fleet said in an exclusive interview during his visit to Japan; “this is real. The commitment of the 3rd Fleet [operating] forward is real.”
The international date line near Hawaii separated the 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka from the 3rd Fleet which is based in the U.S. city of San Diego.
The 3rd Fleet is mainly tasked with protecting the U.S. homeland, while the 7th Fleet is responsible for everything between Hawaii and the India-Pakistan border, including the hotly contested West Philippine Sea.
“I have a lack of understanding of why there is such allegiance to the international date line. This is a blurring of the demarcation,” said Swift, emphasizing the Navy should use the “total combined power” of the 140,000 sailors, the over 200 ships and the 1,200 aircraft that make up the Pacific Fleet.
Read the full story at Tankler