(Reuters) - Some 200 U.S. Marines arrived in Australia late on Tuesday for a six-month deployment, the first of 2,500 troops expected to rotate through a de facto base in Darwin as part of plans to deepen the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific.
The deployment of Marines to northern Australia has sparked concern in China, where officials have questioned whether it is part of a larger U.S. strategy aimed at encircling it and thwarting the country's rise as a global power.
"The world needs to essentially come to grips with the rise of China, the rise of India, the move of strategic and political and economic influence to our part of the world," Australia Defence Minister Stephen Smith said in Darwin.
"And we need to ensure that we do that in a way in which the international community responds to that change, manages that change," he said, adding he believed having the Marines in Australia would enhance those efforts.
The tropical port of Darwin is located 500 miles from Indonesia, allowing the Marines to respond quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, where tensions have risen due to disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
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First Marines in Australia under new security deal - Yahoo! News
The deployment of Marines to northern Australia has sparked concern in China, where officials have questioned whether it is part of a larger U.S. strategy aimed at encircling it and thwarting the country's rise as a global power.
"The world needs to essentially come to grips with the rise of China, the rise of India, the move of strategic and political and economic influence to our part of the world," Australia Defence Minister Stephen Smith said in Darwin.
"And we need to ensure that we do that in a way in which the international community responds to that change, manages that change," he said, adding he believed having the Marines in Australia would enhance those efforts.
The tropical port of Darwin is located 500 miles from Indonesia, allowing the Marines to respond quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, where tensions have risen due to disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
more
First Marines in Australia under new security deal - Yahoo! News