The head of U.S. air forces in the
Pacific said on Monday that Russia's
intervention in Ukraine had been
accompanied by a significant increase
in Russian air activity in the Asia-
Pacific region in a show of strength
and to gather intelligence.
General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle said
the activity had included Russian
flights to the coast of California, and
around the U.S. Pacific island of
Guam.
Carlisle said the number of long-
range Russian patrols around the
Japanese islands and Korea had
increased "drastically." He said there
had also been "a lot more ship
activity as well."
Speaking at Washington's Center for
Strategic and International Studies
think tank, Carlisle showed a slide of
a U.S. F-15 fighter jet intercepting a
Russian "Bear" aircraft over Guam. He
used the Cold War NATO name for
Russia's Tupolov Tu-95 strategic
bomber.
"Certainly what's going on in Ukraine
and Crimea is a challenge for us and
it's a challenge for us in Asia Pacific
as well as Europe," Carlisle said.
He said there had been "a significant"
increase in Russian activity in the
Asia Pacific "and we relate a lot of
that to what's going on in the
Ukraine."
"They've come with their long-range
aviation out to the coast of California,
they've circumnavigated Guam," he
said.
"That's to demonstrate their
capability to do it, it's to gather
intel," Carlisle said, adding that the
surveillance had included observation
of military exercises involving U.S.
forces in South Korea and Japan.
"There are things that are concerning
with respect to how they operate and
how transparent they are with other
nations in the vicinity," he said.
Carlisle did not give details of the
incidents and the Defense Department
and the U.S. Air Force and Navy in
the Pacific did not immediately
respond to a request for more
information.
Mike Green, senior vice president for
Asia at CSIS, said the frequency of
incidents was up and described them
as being "evocative of the Cold War".
Russian President Vladimir Putin
announced in 2007 that Russia was
resuming Soviet-era sorties by its
strategic bomber aircraft near NATO
airspace that were suspended in 1992
after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin, who made the announcement
during a joint military exercise with
China, said the move was necessary
to guarantee Russia's safety and that
other nations had not followed
Moscow's example in suspending
such flights. Haaretz.com