Australia agrees US Marine Deployment Plan

Julia Gillard and Barack Obama announce details of the new military arrangement.

BBC
November 16, 2011

Around 250 U.S. Marines will be permanently in northern Australia beginning next year.

Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra.

She said about 250 US Marines would arrive next year, eventually being built up to 2,500 personnel.

The deployment is being seen as a move to counter China’s growing influence.

But Mr Obama said the US was “stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific”, not excluding China.

“The main message that I’ve said, not only publicly but also privately to China, is that with their rise comes increased responsibility,” he said.

“It is important for them to play by the rules of the road.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin questioned whether the move was in keeping with the region’s peaceful development.

“It may not be quite appropriate to intensify and expand military alliances and may not be in the interest of countries within this region,” he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

The Global Times, a newspaper produced by the Communist Party-controlled People’s Daily group, has been much more bellicose, says the BBC’s Damian Grammaticas in Beijing.

An editorial warned it was “certain” that if “Australia uses its military bases to help the US harm Chinese interests, then Australia itself will be caught in the crossfire”.

Luo Yuan, a senior officer at the People’s Liberation Army’s Academy of Military Sciences told the paper that while neither the US or China wanted to start a war, “if China’s core interests such as its sovereignty, national security and unity are intruded on, a military conflict will be unavoidable”.

Alliance honoured

The US president flew into Canberra from this weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum in Honolulu.

The visit comes as the two countries mark a 60-year security alliance.

Ms Gillard said about 250 Marines would be deployed on a rotational basis in northern Australia from next year.

“Australia will welcome deployments of a company-size rotation of 200 to 250 Marines in the Northern Territory for around six months at a time,” she said.

“Over a number of years we intend to build on this relationship in a staged way to a full force of around 2,500 personnel, that is a full Marine air-ground task force.”

Analysts said the deployment was the biggest in Australia since World War II.

Mr Obama said the deployment would allow the US to “meet the demands of a lot of partners in the region” in terms of training, exercises and “security architecture”.

Later in his visit the US leader is due to visit a memorial in Darwin to honour US and Australian soldiers killed during World War II.

Mr Obama has twice cancelled visits to Australia in the past – in March 2010 as he worked to pass healthcare reform legislation and then in June the same year amid the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

After his stop in Darwin, Mr Obama flies to Indonesia for a summit of Asian leaders.

Daftar Akun Bandar Togel Resmi dengan Hadiah 4D 10 Juta Tahun 2024

Togel resmi adalah langkah penting bagi para penggemar togel yang ingin menikmati permainan dengan aman dan terpercaya. Tahun 2024 menawarkan berbagai kesempatan menarik, termasuk hadiah 4D sebesar 10 juta rupiah yang bisa Anda menangkan. Anda perlu mendaftar akun di Daftar Togel yang menawarkan hadiah tersebut. Proses pendaftaran biasanya sederhana dan melibatkan pengisian formulir dengan informasi pribadi Anda serta verifikasi data untuk memastikan keamanan transaksi. Setelah akun Anda selasai terdaftar, Anda dapat berpartisipasi dalam berbagai permainan togel berbagai fitur yang disediakan oleh situs togel terbesar.

Bermain di Link Togel memungkinkan Anda memasang taruhan dengan minimal 100 perak, sehingga semua kalangan bisa ikut serta. Meskipun taruhan rendah, Anda tetap bisa memenangkan hadiah besar dan mendapatkan bonus. Untuk mulai bermain, Anda harus mendaftar terlebih dahulu.

Bagi pemain togel yang ingin menikmati diskon terbesar, mendaftar di situs togel online terpercaya adalah langkah yang tepat. Bo Togel Hadiah 2d 200rb tidak hanya memberikan jaminan keamanan dalam bertransaksi, tetapi juga menawarkan berbagai diskon untuk jenis taruhan tertentu. Diskon yang besar ini memungkinkan pemain untuk menghemat lebih banyak dan memasang taruhan dalam jumlah yang lebih banyak. Dengan begitu, peluang untuk mendapatkan hadiah juga semakin tinggi, sekaligus memastikan bahwa setiap taruhan dilakukan di situs yang aman dan resmi.

Link Slot Gacor Terpercaya untuk Menang Setiap Hari

Slot gacor hari ini menjadi incaran para pemain Link Slot Gacor yang ingin menikmati peluang jackpot besar hanya dengan menggunakan modal kecil, sehingga mereka bisa merasakan pengalaman bermain yang lebih menyenangkan dan penuh keuntungan.

Situs dengan slot Mahjong Ways gacor memberikan jackpot dan Scatter Hitam lebih sering di tahun 2024. Pastikan memilih situs terpercaya yang menyediakan fitur scatter unggulan, sehingga peluang Anda untuk menang lebih besar dan aman.

Related Links:

Togel178

Pedetogel

Sabatoto

Togel279

Togel158

Colok178

Novaslot88

Lain-Lain

Partner Links