Australia to sign 25-year US Marine agreement

Source: The News (Pk.)

Australia to sign 25-year US Marine agreement

‘The US is committed to this part of the world but also this does not mean a retreat from any other part of the world’

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

SYDNEY: Australia and the United States will sign a 25-year deal allowing 2,500 US Marines and air force personnel to train Down Under, Defence Minister David Johnston said on Monday, describing it as a “win-win situation”.

The agreement will be inked on Tuesday when US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel meet with their Australian counterparts Julie Bishop and Johnston in Sydney.

Trouble spots abroad including Iraq and Ukraine will also be on the agenda for the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), which focus on regional security and military cooperation.

But the centrepiece will be the agreement allowing the Marine rotational deployment in the northern city of Darwin, which was first announced by US President Barack Obama in 2011 as part of his “pivot” towards Asia.




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