Glass
27th March 2012, 01:33 AM
The United States and Australia are planning a major expansion of military ties, including possible drone flights from a coral atoll in the Indian Ocean and increased US naval access to Australian ports, as the Pentagon looks to shift its forces closer to Southeast Asia, officials from both countries said.
The moves, which are under discussion but have drawn strong interest from both sides, would come on top of an agreement announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard in November to deploy up to 2500 US Marines to Darwin, on Australia's northern coast.
The US government is finalising a deal to station four warships in Singapore and has opened negotiations with the Philippines about boosting its military presence there.
To a lesser degree, the Pentagon is also seeking to upgrade military relations with Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
Although US officials say the regional pivot is not aimed at any single country, analysts said it is a clear response to a rising China, whose growing military strength and assertive territorial claims have pushed other Asian nations to reach out to Washington.
The Pentagon is reviewing the size and distribution of its forces in northeast Asia, where they are concentrated on Cold War-era bases in Japan and South Korea. The intent is to gradually reduce the US military presence in those countries while enhancing it in Southeast Asia, home to the world's busiest shipping lanes and to growing international competition to tap into vast undersea oil and gas fields.
"In terms of your overall influence in the Asia-Pacific zone, the strategic weight is shifting south," said a senior Australian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity
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An official interim review of Australia's military basing structure recently concluded that the chances of the country coming under direct military attack are "currently remote".
I'd suggest this is the last thing we need and the likelihood of a direct attack becomes less remote with this deal.
Full story @ the Age (http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/us-and-australia-discuss-drone-flights-over-indian-ocean-20120327-1vw10.html)
The moves, which are under discussion but have drawn strong interest from both sides, would come on top of an agreement announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard in November to deploy up to 2500 US Marines to Darwin, on Australia's northern coast.
The US government is finalising a deal to station four warships in Singapore and has opened negotiations with the Philippines about boosting its military presence there.
To a lesser degree, the Pentagon is also seeking to upgrade military relations with Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
Although US officials say the regional pivot is not aimed at any single country, analysts said it is a clear response to a rising China, whose growing military strength and assertive territorial claims have pushed other Asian nations to reach out to Washington.
The Pentagon is reviewing the size and distribution of its forces in northeast Asia, where they are concentrated on Cold War-era bases in Japan and South Korea. The intent is to gradually reduce the US military presence in those countries while enhancing it in Southeast Asia, home to the world's busiest shipping lanes and to growing international competition to tap into vast undersea oil and gas fields.
"In terms of your overall influence in the Asia-Pacific zone, the strategic weight is shifting south," said a senior Australian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity
......................
......................
An official interim review of Australia's military basing structure recently concluded that the chances of the country coming under direct military attack are "currently remote".
I'd suggest this is the last thing we need and the likelihood of a direct attack becomes less remote with this deal.
Full story @ the Age (http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/us-and-australia-discuss-drone-flights-over-indian-ocean-20120327-1vw10.html)