The first batch of 2,500 US Marines to be deployed in Australia began work Wednesday as Washington bolsters its presence in the strategically vital Asia-Pacific, to the irritation of China. Some 200 Marines touched down in tropical Darwin overnight as part of an enhanced defence co-operation outlined during a visit by US President Barack Obama in November that rankled Beijing.
The troops are in the Northern Territory on a six-month rotational basis and will be based at Robertson Barracks on the outskirts of the city, building to some 2,500 by 2016-17. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson welcomed what they said was the latest chapter in a more than 60-year alliance with the US.