xi's moments
Home | Americas

US sends 1,000 Marines to Darwin, in a largest deployment since WWII

By Xinhua | China Daily | Updated: 2017-04-19 07:40

CANBERRA - More than 1,000 US Marines arrived in Darwin on Tuesday as part of a rotation of forces to be stationed in northern Australia.

The 1,250 troops who arrived in the Northern Territory will soon be joined by 13 aircraft - four tilt-rotor Osprey helicopters, five Super Cobra helicopters and four Huey helicopters - in one of the largest deployments of US forces to Australia since World War II.

Commanding Officer of Marine Rotational Force Darwin, Lieutenant Colonel Brian S. Middleton told journalists on Tuesday that "the aviation combat element is our most robust deployment to Darwin".

"Being close to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific position has always been important."

Middleton said the Marines would conduct "important exercises alongside with Chinese partners" and Australia. Troops from the three countries are conducting annual joint exercises code-named Kowari since 2014.

Brigadier Ben James, commander of Australia's 3,000-strong 1st Brigade based in Darwin, said he looked forward to working alongside with his US counterparts.

The rotation is part of a deal struck between former US president Barack Obama and former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard in 2011.

It is the first large-scale arrival of US troops since the arrangement was signed, with a small number of Marines having been sent to Darwin for training since 2012.

Michael Gunner, the Northern Territory's chief minister, said the deployment provides an important economic boost to the territory. A report said the Marines would inject $3.7 million into the NT economy annually.

 

US Marines disembark a plane as they arrive at Darwin, Australia, on Tuesday.Tomwestbrook / Reuters

(China Daily 04/19/2017 page13)

Global Edition
BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349