The government of Malaysia has extended the use of its territory as a base for U.S. maritime surveillance planes, according to U.S. Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert on Sept. 8.

Greenert confirmed the overture and said the Malaysian government has offered the U.S. to fly detachments of P-8s out of East Malaysia. P-8s are the U.S. Navy's new anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft.

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"You can see the closeness to the South China Sea," Greenert said. "So we have opportunities and we ought to continue to nurture them."

The comments came while Greenert was speaking about U.S. strategy to re-balance the Asia-Pacific in front of an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

On Friday, however, Greenert's office clarified, saying that no P-8 flights from Malaysia had been approved.

According to U.S. Navy spokesman Captain Danny Hernandez, the CNO did not talk about approving flights.

"What he was discussing was nurturing future opportunities, like responding to emerging issues in the region, which was done with MH370 search operations," Hernandez said.

The U.S. armed forces have no formal military agreements to operate out of Malaysia. Instead, the two countries collaborate on a case-by-case basis, including the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, in which P-8s were used.

But while the United States has yet to take up this latest offer or even agree to do so, the move is a clear message to China. Beijing's excursions into the South China Sea has caused serious diplomatic ruptures with Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and the Philippines.

China and the U.S. are already at loggerheads over an incident last month when a Chinese fighter pilot buzzed a P-8 patrol plane in international air space near the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the Washington had "no plans for a permanent presence in Malaysia."

"Any US military engagement in Malaysia is with the permission and the full cooperation of the Malaysian government," the State Department said.

TagsP-8, Malaysia, Greenert