Asia-Pacific

Gates says US seeks no new bases in Asia


Updated: 2010-11-07 09:44
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MELBOURNE - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says expanded US military ties with Southeast Asian nations and Australia are not a challenge to a rising China.

Gates says US moves are "not about China at all," and that the US and China share many goals in the region.

Gates tells reporters that the United States is not planning any new military bases in Asia, but is looking at other ways to cooperate and expand US presence.

One possibility under review at a joint meeting with Australia is for US forces to piggyback on existing military bases there.