Faced with an apocalyptic hypothetical question, the commander of the U. S. Pacific Fleet reiterated the principle of civilian control of the military.
HONG KONG — The commander of the United States Pacific Fleet was asked a hypothetical question during a talk on Thursday in Australia: If President Trump ordered a nuclear strike on China, would he comply?
“The answer would be yes, ” the commander, Adm. Scott H. Swift, replied.
Admiral Swift, who was speaking at Australian National University in Canberra, said his answer was a reflection of the principle of civilian control over the military.
“Every member of the U. S. military has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the United States as the commander in chief appointed over us, ” he said.
Capt. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the United States Pacific Fleet, said the premise of the question about using nuclear weapons against China was “ridiculous, ” and not something Admiral Swift had raised himself.
“Perhaps he more forcefully could have refuted the hypothetical, ” Captain Brown said. “He was trying to find an opportunity to use it to deliver a message on something positive, and that was the answer he gave on civilian control.”
There was no immediate official response from China to the admiral’s comments.
Rory Medcalf, the head of the National Security College and host of the talk, said the question had been posed to Admiral Swift without much context and had put him on the spot.
“Admiral Swift answered the question the only way a serving military officer could, ” Mr.
