美軍最先進反潛機抵達日本 將在東海地區進行監察飛行
The U.S. Navy's first two advanced P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft have arrived in Japan, U.S. military officials said on Monday, helping to upgrade America's ability to hunt submarines and other vessels in seas close to China as tension in the region mounts.
The initial deployment - another four of the aircraft are due to arrive in the coming days - was planned before China last month established an air defense identification zone covering islands controlled by Japan and claimed by Beijing.
The Pentagon says it is routinely flying operations in the region, including in China's newly declared air defense zone, without informing Beijing ahead of time.
One U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters these routine operations include surveillance flights.
The deployment of the P-8As came before U.S. Vice President Joe Biden left for Asia this week, where he is seeking to strike a balance between calming military tensions with China and supporting Japan as it wrangles with Beijing over the islands.
Equipped with the latest radar equipment and armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, the P-8A is able to fly further and stay out on a mission longer than the P-3.
"The P-8A is the most advanced long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world," the Pentagon said.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Pool, a Pentagon spokesman, said the first two P-8As arrived in Japan on Sunday. The other four were expected to arrive there later this week, a Navy spokeswoman said.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the deployment came at a moment of region tensions. The official said the timing was a coincidence, but one that would bolster the U.S. military's efforts to monitor the maritime environment in the region.
That includes the area around the disputed islands, known to the Japanese as the Senkakus and to the Chinese as the Daioyu, the official said.
Washington takes no position on the sovereignty of the islands. However, it recognizes Tokyo's administrative control and says the U.S.-Japan security pact applies to them, a stance that could drag the United States into a military conflict it would prefer to avoid.日本防衛省上月底透露，美軍將在沖繩縣嘉手納基地部署6架P-8A“波塞頓”海上反潛巡邏機。據英國媒體報道，美國國防部12月2日表示，首批2架飛機現已部署到位，這將進一步提升美國海軍在東海地區的反潛作戰能力。
P-8A“波塞頓”海上反潛巡邏機，是美國波音公司在737客機的基礎上升級改造而成，用於替代已服役近50年的P-3“奧利安”巡邏機。P-8A反潛巡邏機上裝備有最先進的雷達設備以及魚雷和反艦導彈，相較於P-3巡邏機，其飛行距離和執行任務時間均大爲增加。
“P-8A是目前世界上最先進的遠程反潛和反水面作戰飛機。”美國國防部發言人傑弗裏·普爾稱，首批2架P-8A反潛巡邏機已在本月1日抵達日本沖繩縣嘉手納基地，預計其餘4架會在本週晚些時候到位。
美國國防部稱，這6架P-8A反潛巡邏機將在嘉手納基地所處的東海地區執行常規飛行任務。據一位美國國防部官員透露，這些常規飛行任務包括在東海地區進行監察飛行。
本月23日，中國宣佈劃設東海防空識別區。由於東海識別區覆蓋釣魚島及其附屬島嶼海域，日美等國反應強烈，致使東海局勢趨緊。
英國路透社指出，美國副總統約翰·拜登本週訪亞，尋求找到緩和東海緊張局勢的切入點和平衡點，而美軍選擇此時在該地區部署最先進的反潛巡邏機，或許還有其他含義。
一位美國政府官員也承認，美方的確是在一個地區局勢緊張的“非常時刻”作出部署安排，“儘管是碰巧選擇了這個時間點，但這一巧合卻能極大提升美軍對東海地區海事環境的監控能力”。
