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US to expand military presence across Asia
The United States military will store equipment and supplies in Australia as part of a new regional posture.
The new plans for the American-Australian alliance were said to be formalized during annual talks on military and foreign affairs that happened this past week between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, and their Australian counterparts, Kevin Rudd and Stephen Smith.
In the closed-door talks in Melbourne, Clinton and Gates were said to be outlining a stepped-up American military presence across Asia into the Indian Ocean that will involve more frequent patrols and port-calls by US Navy ships and other units.
This expansion of America's global military presence is intended to change operations which involved t deploying forces directly from bases in the United States or its external territories, to maintain a more "visible and effective" presence in key regions.
There will be more American cruises through south-east Asia and more exercises with Australian and other regional forces, including those of Indonesia and Singapore.
The pre-positioning of US military stores in Australian locales such as in Darwin and Townsville would also supposedly allow faster aid in disasters and help with logistical problems in joint training. But it is likely to include large amounts of combat equipment for the typical US Marine taskforce involved in bigger amphibious exercises.