The change of command was at Camp Smith, but in deference to his service and tradition, Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating was "piped aboard" yesterday as he took over U.S. Pacific Command.

Flags snapped in strong trade winds and more than 700 guests sat under canopies arranged around the portico of the Nimitz-MacArthur Pacific Command Center as Keating became the 23rd commander of the oldest and largest of the U.S. military's unified commands.

Since its inception 60 years ago, the Pacific Command job has been held by Navy admirals with the exception of brief fill-in duty by members of other services.

Keating, 58, has military responsibility for a region that spans half the globe, includes 43 countries, the world's six largest armed forces — those of China, Russia, India and North Korea among them — and five of seven worldwide U.S. mutual defense treaties.

"We come here with high expectations," Keating said as his wife, Wandalee, sat in the front row.

The Ohio native and 1971 Naval Academy graduate later said, "We're going to spend more time working with our counterparts in China."

Keating told a Senate confirmation panel on March 8 that conflict with China over security in the region remains a possibility. The country is rapidly building up its military.

But Keating said he would engage in joint military exercises "of some sophistication and frequency" with the Chinese to try to ease tensions with the superpower.

"If we ensure they are aware of our capabilities, our intent, I think that would go a long way to defusing a potential strike across the Straits of Taiwan," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted yesterday that Keating had "established a record of accomplishments" in a range of challenging assignments, and "fully understands the challenges of today."

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also was at the ceremony after returning from China.

Keating commanded an aircraft carrier group based in Japan and later, the Navy's Fifth Fleet during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Most recently, as commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, both in Colorado, Keating was responsible for guarding "against a range of threats and means of attack from weapons of all kinds — some so small that they could even fit inside a thimble," Gates said.

Keating replaces Adm. William J. Fallon, 62, who took over U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., and will oversee wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Representatives from the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Norway, the Federated States of Micronesia, Austria, the Netherlands and Australia attended the change of command ceremony.

Gates said he appreciated the representation from countries throughout the Pacific, which he said was testament to the partnership fostered under Fallon's two-year tenure.

"I suspect that Admiral Keating may be visiting your countries in coming months," Gates said.

The region is home to "some of America's oldest and strongest allies," Gates said, adding that a "great many partnerships — old and new — have grown considerably stronger in recent years. The restoration of military relations with Indonesia comes to mind, as does the strengthening of our long-standing ties with Japan and Australia."

But there remains a range of threats new and old from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to old-fashioned piracy, Gates said.

"Countries with limited transparency are taking actions that seem contrary to international stability — causing other countries to question their intentions," Gates said.

"And violent jihadists are trying to undermine the foundations of free society that have allowed many countries in this region to prosper."

Keating acknowledged the importance. "The opportunities are immense," he said. "They are profound. We are going to capitalize on that."

Later, he said six-party talks with North Korea over its nuclear program "are proceeding, albeit a little bit on and off." He added he is cautiously optimistic the way ahead is "hopeful for peace on the peninsula."

Keating, known for his casual and unflappable manner, showed that side of his personality when he appeared to be finished speaking and then returned to the podium, jokingly told the crowd to "Sit down," and then followed that up in deference to Gates, Pace and his wife, and his own wife, by adding, "Sir, chairman, Mrs. Pace, and Wandalee" to his command.

Keating has two grown children — a son and son-in-law are in the Navy. Keating was stationed in Hawai'i for about a year and a half in the mid-1980s, and said he received some good advice from his boss, Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., who was Pacific commander at the time.

"He said 'If you always tell the truth, at the end of the day, you will have that going for you,' and I try to keep that in mind in everything that I've done."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.