China, which is at odds with Washington over the South China Sea,
said on Tuesday the move was aimed at militarizing the region.
In a joint statement after a meeting in Washington on Monday, U.S.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng
Hen welcomed the inaugural deployment of the aircraft in Singapore
from Dec. 7 to 14.
A U.S. defense official said further deployments in Singapore could
be expected. The move comes at a time of heightened tensions in the
South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire energy-rich waters, through which
more than $5 trillion of maritime trade passes each year. The
Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping
claims.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Dec/08/images/ads/current/SCIL_bch_100215.png) "I think this kind of increase in military deployment by the United
States and pushing regional militarization does not accord with the
joint long-term interests of the countries in this region," Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news
briefing.
China believes that Singapore, like other countries in the region,
wants to see a peaceful and prosperous Southeast Asia, she added.
The United States already operates P8s from Japan and the
Philippines, and has also conducted surveillance flights from
Singapore's neighbor, Malaysia.
The statement said the P8 deployment in Singapore would "promote
greater interoperability with regional militaries through
participation in bilateral and multilateral exercises, while
providing timely support for regional HADR and maritime security
efforts." HADR is an acronym for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
operations.
The United States and Singapore have long-standing defense ties and
the announcement of the P8 deployment was part of an enhanced
Defense Cooperation Agreement signed by Carter and Ng, which also
covers cooperation in fighting transnational terrorism and piracy.
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Washington has criticized China's building of artificial islands in
the South China Sea's disputed Spratly archipelago, and has
conducted sea and air patrols near them recently.
Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama called on countries to stop
building artificial islands in the sea and militarizing their
claims. He said the United States would continue to assert its
freedom-of-navigation rights.
China responded by saying it would continue to build both military
and civilian facilities on the islands.
Last month, U.S. B-52 bombers flew near some of China's artificial
islands and at the end of October a U.S. guided-missile destroyer
sailed within 12 nautical miles of one of them.
In May, the Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the crew of a U.S.
P8 that flew near the islands, according to CNN, which was aboard
the U.S. aircraft.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Nick
Macfie)
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