An Air Force F-35 Lightning II out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, visits a base in Rimba, Brunei, on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Eric Summers/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force stealth fighters made their first trip Friday to an oil-rich Southeast Asian sultanate that, like its neighbors, is at odds with Beijing over territory in the South China Sea.
“@usairforce lands a fighter aircraft in Brunei for the first time, sharing the F-35 Lightning II with the Royal Brunei Air Force,” Pacific Air Forces posted Tuesday on X along with photos of two F-35s at Rimba Air Base.
Brunei, a Muslim-majority monarchy of around 460,000 bordering Malaysia on the island of Borneo, is one of several Association of Southeast Asian Nations members with claims to the South China Sea that overlap those of China.
Brunei’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from its coast, overlaps with Beijing’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea.
The United Kingdom stations an infantry battalion of Gurkhas supported by Puma helicopters in the country, according to the British army’s official website.
The fifth-generation F-35As that visited Brunei are conventional takeoff and landing versions of the fighter from the Alaska-based 356th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Embassy in Brunei said Monday in a statement posted on its website.
“The Pacific Air Forces unit is in Brunei for a familiarization with the aircraft and to build upon working relationships with the Royal Brunei Air Force,” the statement said.
An Air Force F-35 Lightning II out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, lands at a base in Rimba, Brunei, on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Eric Summers/U.S. Air Force)
The Brunei air force commander, Brig. Gen. Dato Seri Pahlawan Mohd Sharif bin Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim, met an F-35A crew and maintenance team, checked out an aircraft and learned about its capabilities, the statement said.
The fighter jets’ arrival from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, coincided with official visits by Jedidiah Royal, U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of defense, and Maj. Gen. Mark Weber, Air National Guard assistant to the commander of PACAF, the statement said.
The pair are meeting Bruneian officials on securities initiatives and marking the 40th anniversary of U.S.-Brunei diplomatic relations, the statement said.
Brunei could seek to purchase its own F-35s, Paul Buchanan, an American security expert based in New Zealand, said by email Monday.
“Brunei is a security partner tied into the [China] ring-fencing project, so keeping it on-side with shiny object purchases night be good value for dollar even if their actual military worth in the event of conflict may be a secondary consideration,” he said.
