US to Deploy Combat Ships to Singapore

 U.S. military is planning a greater presence in the world

The United States plans to station several Navy combat ships in Singapore, as Washington is mulling stepping up deployments to the Philippines and Thailand.

(Press TV) "We will station several of our newest littoral combat ships" in Singapore, Admiral Jonathan Greenert stated in an academic article, referring to the presence of the US Navy in the region by the year 2025.

In the article Greenert alludes to the negative effect of the current economic crisis on future military expenditures, adding that "because we will probably not be able to sustain the financial and diplomatic cost of new main operating bases abroad, the fleet will rely more on host-nation ports and other facilities where our ships, aircraft, and crews can refuel, rest, resupply and repair while deployed."

He said that the US may also increase the deployment of aircraft - which are used to track submarines - to the Philippines and Thailand.

US President Obama announced last month that the United States would post up to 2,500 marines in the northern city of Darwin, Australia, by 2016-17.

The United States already has approximately 70,000 troops stationed in Japan and South Korea.

Russia has criticized the redundancy of US military forces near its borders, including the establishment of missile array systems in Poland and Romania.

A top Russian military official says Russia will generate a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to surmount a potential US missile system in Europe.