Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said the United States would offer “help” to the Philippines in the event of a crisis in the South China Sea in which China occupied disputed territories. Further, the United States would continue to make clear that “aggressive behavior” is contrary to stability in the region, Greenert told students at a defense college in Manila on Feb. 13 during his official visit to the Asian nation, reported Agence France Presse (via ABC News). “I don’t know what that help would be, specifically. I mean we have an obligation because we have a [mutual defense] treaty,” he said. The United States opposes any forceful action in the region to resolve disputes, said Greenert. “You may have seen some statements coming from our policy makers exactly in that direction. You will see more of that from us,” he said. China has increasingly turned to paramilitary and military force to assert its interests in disputes in the South China Sea.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.