- Title: SINGAPORE-USA/NAVY US aircraft carrier operates off the shores of Singapore
- Date: 23rd October 2015
- Summary: AT SEA (OCTOBER 23, 2015) (REUTERS) USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT FLIGHT DECK WITH F-18 JETS PARKED COMMUNICATION DEVICES ON SHIP'S BRIDGE LINED UP F-18 JETS FUELTANK FOR IN AIR REFUELLING F-18 JETS LINED UP VARIOUS OF CREW MEMBERS WORKING ON JET MAINTENANCE COMMANDER OF CARRIER STRIKE GROUP 12 REAR ADMIRAL ROY KELLEY SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMMANDER OF CARRIER S
- Embargoed: 7th November 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: At Sea
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVALJDYY97JFGWJR7BZFRM3T64S
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A US navy official on board a US aircraft carrier on its way back from an Arabian Gulf mission said on Friday (October 23) that a memorandum of understanding signed recently by the United States and Russia has eased concern about an inadvertent clash over Syria as they carry out separate air strikes against militant groups.
The US carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, flagship of Carrier Strike Group 12, was part of a U.S.-led coalition that conducted air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, US military officials said.
The issue of aircraft safety started after Russia began bombing targets in Syria last month. Moscow says it is attacking Islamic State, but many of its air strikes have hit territory held by other rebel groups fighting against Russia's Syrian ally, President Bashar al-Assad.
"So it was significant when Russians began operating in Syria, there was some concern about deconfliction of aircraft and operating in the same country and initially that was difficult to overcome, recently they've signed an agreement that allows some deconfliction between US aircraft, coalition aircraft that are operating there as well as the Russians, so I think for the time being, anyway, the problem has been solved," Commander of Carrier Strike Group 12 Rear Admiral Roy Kelley said from the carrier docked off Singapore's shores on Friday.
USS Theodore Roosevelt Commanding Officer, Captain Craig Clapperton said the ability of Islamic State to expand has been stopped.
"Their ability to manoeuvre freely within the battle space has been decreased and their ability to expand has essentially been stopped. ISIS does not have the capability, really, to do a lot of its own replenishment and restoration of its forces and so now that the group has been essentially stopped and frozen into place, the war of attrition, although it will be a long slog as the defence department has indicated, is certainly on our side as we continue to deny and degrade and I believe, ultimately, destroy their operations in Northern Iraq and Syria," he said.
The Carrier Strike Group also participated in joint naval exercises with India and Japanese navies in the Bay of Bengal from October 14-19.
"Japan's participation in the future, I think, is something that we can expect to continue. I don't think that the intent of it is aimed at any particular country, the intent of the exercise is for us to continue to build support, understand relationships and how our navies operate and make sure we are able to continue to keep the free lanes, of commerce flowing in and about the Indo-Asia Pacific region," said Rear Admiral Roy Kelley.
The decision to expand the Malabar exercises that the U.S. and India conduct each year to include Japan came days after a Pentagon official said it was considering sailing warships close to China's artificial islands in the South China Sea.
The Financial Times newspaper last week cited a senior U.S. official as saying U.S. ships would sail within 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as territory around islands it has built in the Spratly chain, within the next two weeks.
Officials declined to discuss details of the aircraft carrier's future operations as it makes its way towards the Pacific, possibly passing through the South China Sea, but said they were prepared to respond to any situation.
"Well so first of all, I am not going to address our specific operations in a day to day and certainly any kind of future operations, that's not what we do. Is this strike group ready to carry out operations across the full spectrum of military capabilities? Absolutely we are, we train and work up to that, we look at all the potential areas in which we will operate and all the mission sets that we'll asked to do. We are 100 percent combat ready, we are 100 percent ready to respond to anything from a humanitarian assistance operation to a maritime security operation up to and including major combat operations as is any other carrier strike group that goes out on deployment," said Clapperton.
The Carrier Strike Group 12 stopped in Singapore to resupply before sailing to its final destination, San Diego. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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