Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General David L. Goldfein and Pacific Air Forces Commander (PACAF), General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. both have said that the US operations are normal throughout the Pacific, including the South China Sea, within international space and air space. 
General David L. Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force. Photo: US Air Force
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On the US forces' activity within the Pacific, whether it is the South China Sea or anyplace else, it’s all part of a free and open Indo-Pacific, General Brown said at a teleconference last weekend.
“We want to be able to sail, fly, and operate anywhere international law allows,” he affirmed.
Regarding freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), General Goldfein said what the US is most concerned about here is that they all adhere to established rules of behavior that allow them to have common access to the global commons.
So, the US Air Force, the US Navy, in partnership with allies, partners in the region, want to make sure that they keep these avenues open. So they absolutely are doing freedom of navigation operations both in the air and at sea.
They are coordinated and they are focused on ensuring that they all maintain access because everybody benefits from being able to have trade routes, to have open areas of navigation.
“So, you’ll see that we will continue to have a presence here to ensure that the [order] that we have on the seas and in the air continues,” General Goldfein said at the teleconference.
General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Pacific Air Forces Commander (PACAF). Photo: US Air Force
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Concerning Chinese warships in the Philippines, General Goldfein said any activity regardless of sea, the air, space, and cyber, has got to adhere to some international rules of order that we all live by. So, anybody in the region that violates those, it’s concerning.
“So part of our engagement here, and our presence here, is to make sure that we keep the global commons open for all. And everybody benefits when we can have freedom of navigation, to include China,” he said.
General Brown said “the only thing I would add to that is one of our key goals with our partners here is to provide domain awareness, both in the air and in this case, in the maritime.”
“So we have a good understanding of what’s going on. So, in negotiations in support of our diplomats, they have accurate information based on our best ability to provide it to them, to ensure we can have that access to the global commons as well as ensuring a rules-based international order is adhered to,” he noted.
Answering a question raised by Rappler in Manila to what extent the US’ effort is able to deter this behavior from China, General Goldfein said “there’s no let-up in our willingness or our ability to fly or sail where we need to and when we need to, and there will be no let-up in the future. That’s our commitment to the region.”
General Brown emphasized “the fact that we have to highlight the facts when those that don’t follow rules-based international order, no matter who that might be, we do highlight that. So, part of our operations is to deter, or also prove the fact that you should be able to fly, sail, and operate no matter what nation you are, where international law allows.”
In terms of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, General Goldfein said “our job is to make sure that in the US, our Commander in Chief, and as a friend in the region, allies and partners, our job is to make sure that we continue to have credible military options and that we fly and we sail where we need to do, where we need to operate, to maintain the global commons for all.”
“Again, China benefits as well as anyone else if we all adhere to international norms and rules of behavior,” he noted.
“We remain committed to stability and prosperity in the region, and we do that through the pursuit of readiness partnerships and promotion of a good network, he noted.
“Our vision is for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and we’ll continue to maintain that presence to do our part to ensure that we keep this area free and open for all,” General Goldfein concluded.
