Plan B Forum

More US troops to train in Australia

Max Blenkin, AAP Defence Correspondent
November 16, 2011

AAP

More United States troops will train in Australia, starting next year with a force of up to 250 Marines that will be eventually expanded to a force of 2500. [this will be the largest US force on station in Australia since WW II]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the announcement on Wednesday alongside President Barack Obama, saying the plan would build on the 60-year-old ANZUS alliance between the two nations.

The expansion of the existing collaboration between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the US Marine Corps and US Air Force will allow America to enhance its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Over a number of years we intend to build on this relationship in a staged way to a full force of around 2500 personnel, that is a full Marine Air-Ground Task Force," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

She said US aircraft would make greater use of RAAF bases in the NT and the US would also preposition some equipment and supplies in Australia to support training activities at ranges including Bradshaw, Delamere air weapons range and Mount Bundey.

As well, the US would probably send more warships, including nuclear powered ships and submarines through the Australian naval base at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

"Taken together these two initiatives make our alliance stronger. They strengthen our co-operation in our region," Ms Gillard said.

Ms Gillard said the ADF will increase its capabilities by training with the US Marines.

"It will mean that we are postured to better respond together along with other partners in the Asia-Pacific to any regional contingency including the provision of humanitarian assistance and dealing with natural disasters," she said.

President Obama said the US had no stronger ally than Australia and the alliance would be indispensable to their shared future.

"These rotations which are going to be taking place on Australian bases will bring our militaries even closer and make them even more effective," he said.

"It will enhance our ability to train, exercise and operate with allies and partners across our region and that in turn will allow us to work with these nations to respond even faster to wide range of challenges including humanitarian crises and disaster relief as well as promoting security co-operation across the region."

Opposition Tony Abbott welcomed the plan to give US troops more access to Australian military bases, saying it continued the work begun between the US and Australia under the Howard Coalition government.

"This is in Australia's security interests and will assist the US, the bedrock of global security and stability, in its objectives of maintaining a strong military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and of dispersing its forces," he said in a statement.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-na ... 1nijv.html

ANALYSIS: Most Australians happy to host US troops

Sydney - Greens leader Bob Brown, who famously heckled George W Bush during the US president's 2003 address to the Parliament in Canberra, is unhappy about the 60-year-old military alliance being upgraded to allow US Marines to be stationed in Australia.

'They're here to offset the rising military power of China. They're not here for Australia's safety,' Brown said before filing in to Parliament House to listen to an address by US President Barack Obama.

Brown will not make world headlines by again interrupting a US leader. The tide has turned and the US is again popular in Australia.

A survey by Sydney's independent Lowy Institute think tank found 55 per cent would approve of not just more troops here for training but a full-blown US military base.

The poll showed support for the military alliance running at a record high, with 59 per cent rating it very important for Australia's security

The Yanks Are Coming! The Yanks Are Coming! That is insulting

Lord Jim wrote:It would certainly have been insulting to my great great grandfather who served proudly as a soldier with The 16th North Carolinians in Bobby Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia...

Lord Jim wrote:

The Yanks Are Coming! The Yanks Are Coming! That is insulting

It would certainly have been insulting to my great great grandfather who served proudly as a soldier with The 16th North Carolinians in Bobby Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia...

A SMALL contingent of Australian and Chinese soldiers has opened a modest new chapter in military relations, even as hawkish Chinese generals lashed out at the US using other nations, such as Australia, to ''encircle'' China.



Emergency contingents performed a rescue of civilian casualties in a fictitious earthquake-ravaged ''country B'', in a joint training exercise replete with a leaning building, a noxious chemical leak and an emergency evacuation helicopter.

The movie set-like backdrop was a far cry from the genuine devastation that struck the area in May 2008, leaving 68,000 dead.
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The deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army's emergency response office, Senior Colonel Wu Xihua, said its efforts in 2008 had been ''a great success for humanity'' but the experience had prompted the PLA to place more emphasis on emergency relief work.

The Australian contingent leader, Lieutenant Amanda Fielding, who helped co-ordinate disaster relief during the Queensland floods, said Chinese planning processes turned out to be similar to her own.

''We learnt a lot from each other about which organisations provide what in our respective militaries and who we need to talk to,'' she said.

The Chinese had requested a far larger Australian team than the 15 in Sichuan yesterday, but the Australians opted for a more practical-focused program.

The fact that the exercises were held at all showed the Chinese government and PLA have chosen not to make a fuss over Australia's decision to host up to 2500 US Marines near Darwin.

''Exercise Co-operation Spirit shows … how regional partners such as China and Australia can work together to manage and respond to emerging challenges,'' said the ambassador to Beijing, Frances Adamson.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/australi ... z1f8pzq6i6