The United States should boost its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region with a new numbered fleet, possibly based in Singapore, according to the U.S. Navy’s top civilian leader. Because it's not the "Indian Ocean Fleet", it's the South China Sea fleet, but just obfuscated. As part of a 1990 agreement (concluded in 1992) between Singapore and the United States, American military forces (primarily naval and air force) have been making use of Sembawang's base facilities. Speaking at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium on November 17, Braithwaite has suggested that the proposed First Fleet will take some load off the U.S. Installation Information. Joined Nov 4, 2004 Messages 14,545 Reaction score 44. The US Navy is moving forward with a plan to add a numbered fleet to the Indo-Pacific as part of its efforts to counter China in the region. The 1st Fleet was activated in 1947 but was re-designated as the 3rd Fleet in 1973. The Singapore Area Coordinator (SAC) welcomes you to Singapore, the U.S. Navy's gateway to Southeast Asia. We have to look to our other allies and partners like Singapore, like India, and actually put a numbered fleet where it would be extremely relevant if, God forbid, we were to ever to get in any kind of a dust-up,” US Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite has recently said. As summarized in The Drive, a numbered fleet based possibly out of Singapore would make for a greater concentration of forces able to more rapidly and effectively respond to any conflict potentially involving China: When the Navy shuttered 1st Fleet nearly 50 years ago, it established U.S. 3rd Fleet in its place. The Navy used the command that would eventually become First Fleet from 1943 to 1973. Between 1950 and 1973, the US First Fleet was the main American naval presence in the central Pacific. The Navy chief said the new fleet would be called the “First Fleet” and could be based in Singapore. The Singapore strategy was a naval defence policy of the British Empire that evolved in a series of war plans from 1919 to 1941. In 1973, it was disestablished and its duties assumed by the Third Fleet. Mr Esper had supported the navy proposal. The Navy established Third Fleet … Thread starter Furore; Start date Nov 27, 2020; ... SG has been a navy base for US fleet for years. “We can’t just rely on the Seventh Fleet in Japan. Then it goes to question why when this 1st Fleet already seem to have a default base to operate out from, right in the middle of the Indian Ocean, conveniently within its area of operations, wants to even suggest Singapore as one of its possible? Established in 2007, Singapore Area Coordinator (SAC) provides comprehensive shore support services to the Fleet… During the two-week availability which was completed September 9, Shiloh’s crew and shipyard […] Nov 27, 2020 #25 Unlikely to station. The headquarters of the 1st Fleet is likely to be in Singapore, although consideration is being given to make it … Thanks for bringing up this good point. Asian maritime analysts have described Washington’s out-of-the-blue proposal to raise a new United States navy fleet in Asia, potentially based out of Singapore, as a unilateral “trial balloon” by the outgoing Trump administration – one that is unlikely to garner immediate support from the region or President-elect Joe Biden without further scrutiny. [GVGT] China panic: US navy will have first fleets base in Singapore. Seventh Fleet. US Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite has proposed refounding the US First Fleet and basing it in the Indo-Pacific region, possibly Singapore, at the southern tip of the South China Sea. The US Navy is planning to re-create the First Fleet and place it between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, according to Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite, says USNI News. It was disestablished and its duties assumed by the U.S. (US Navy website) Operational responsibility for the Pacific currently is divided between the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet (from the US West Coast to the International Date Line) and the Japan-based 7th Fleet (from Hawaii to the Indian Ocean). It's damn obvious they want a reason to constantly conduct more FONOPs through the South China Sea and having a base in Singapore would be perfect since they can just have ships rotate between a fleet based here and 7th Fleet in Yokosuka JivBunny Arch-Supremacy Member. The Navy's Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific currently uses the Sembawang naval base in Singapore to provide logistics support to the Seventh Fleet. US Navy chief wants Indian Ocean '1st Fleet,' possibly in Singapore Sponsored Content About Sponsored Content This content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau. Currently, the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, operating out of Japan, covers a vast oceanic expanse, all the way to the India-Pakistan border. The Navy has had a presence at the Singaporean Navy's Changi Naval Base since 1990 and now had Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) forward-deployed there under the operational control of 7th Fleet. The U.S. Navy will be bolstering its presence in Pacific and Indian Ocean seaways as part of an effort to counter Chinese influence in the area by reforming its First Fleet, ABC reported. Ship maintainers and crew from the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) have completed a continuous maintenance availability (CMAV) period in Singapore making it the first CMAV conducted away from the U.S. 7th Fleet maintenance hub in Yokosuka, Japan. “Trump’s Navy secretary wants to set up a US Navy 1st Fleet ‘in the crossroads’ between Indian and Pacific Oceans; suggests Singapore could ultimately be its base. Singapore has given the go-ahead for U.S. Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to operate out of its airbases to patrol the disputed waters of the South China Sea. “We want to stand up a new numbered fleet,” Braithwaite said Tuesday, at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium, according to USNI News . US Navy chief wants Indian Ocean '1st Fleet,' possibly in Singapore Secretary Braithwaite says 7th Fleet in Japan not enough to check China Littoral combat ship USS Coronado moors in Changi, Singapore, in preparation for the International Maritime Defense Exhibition. He said the new 1 st Fleet might be based in Singapore, where he recently met with officials to discuss enhanced Naval presence. Asian maritime analysts have described Washington’s out-of-the-blue proposal to raise a new United States navy fleet in Asia, potentially based out of Singapore, as a unilateral “trial balloon” by the outgoing Trump administration – one that is unlikely to garner immediate support from the region or President-elect Joe Biden without further scrutiny. Braithwaite announced the plans at the conference of the Naval Submarine League on November 11. The U.S. First Fleet was in operation from January 1947 to February 1973 and operated in the Western Pacific as part of the Pacific Fleet. If it comes back, experts told Stars and Stripes that Singapore or Australia could … The First Fleet was a unit of the United States Navy, in operation from as early as 1946 (but definitely active by 1948 as the First Task Fleet) to 1 February 1973 in the western Pacific Ocean as part of the Pacific Fleet. Welcome to Singapore Area Coordinator.