Australia Agrees to Host U.S. Marines

(Newsroom America) -- Australia has agreed to host a full U.S. Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday at a news conference with President Barack Obama.

The move is being seen as a means of bolstering the U.S. military presence in Asia, as means to counter China's growing influence and to protect American interests in the region, analysts said.

Obama said the U.S. was "stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific," including China.

"The main message that I've said, not only publicly but also privately to China, is that with their rise comes increased responsibility," he said. "It is important for them to play by the rules of the road."

Chinese officials questioned U.S. motives, however, saying it did not appear to be in line with Beijing's peaceful intentions.

"It may not be quite appropriate to intensify and expand military alliances and may not be in the interest of countries within this region," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

An editorial in the Global Times, a newspaper produced by the Communist Party-controlled People's Daily group, contained a dire warning for Australia.

The editorial warned it was "certain" that if "Australia uses its military bases to help the US harm Chinese interests, then Australia itself will be caught in the crossfire."

Gillard said the number of Marines deployed in Australia would increase over time.

"Australia will welcome deployments of a company-size rotation of 200 to 250 Marines in the Northern Territory for around six months at a time," she said. "Over a number of years we intend to build on this relationship in a staged way to a full force of around 2,500 personnel, that is a full Marine air-ground task force."

Obama said the deployments would meet a range of security and training needs in the region.

© 2011 Newsroom America.

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