US to base Marines in Australia, China reacts

CANBERRA: The United States will deploy up to 2,500 Marines to Australia as the nations expand their 60-year-old military alliance, President Barack Obama said Wednesday in a move that rankled China.

Stressing the rising economic influence of the Asia-Pacific, Obama told reporters in Canberra he was stepping up Washington's commitment to the region, undaunted by China, which he said America did not fear.

"The notion that we fear China is a mistake. The notion that we are looking to exclude China is a mistake," Obama said.

The self-declared "Pacific President" told reporters at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard that when it came to the fast-growing region: "We are here to stay." "This is a region of huge strategic importance to us," he said. "And we are going to make sure that we are able to fulfil our leadership goal in the Asia-Pacific region."

The deployment of US Marines to Australia's tropical north came as the allies adapted their military posture to face a new security era marked by the rise of China, which sparked an immediate negative response from Beijing.

"It may not be quite appropriate to intensify and expand military alliances and may not be in the interest of countries within this region," China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said.

The first deployment of around 250 US Marines will be sent to Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory in mid-2012, kicking off a rotating six-month presence of as many as 2,500 US troops Down Under.

"It is a new agreement to expand the existing collaboration between the
Australian Defence Force and the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force," Gillard said.