USA

The United States announced an agreement with
Australia Wednesday that will expand military
cooperation between the long-time allies and boost
America's presence in the region.
The agreement was revealed during a joint news
conference between U.S. President Barack Obama
and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the
nation's capital, Canberra.

Obama is on a two-day trip to Australia, his first visit
as commander-in-chief.

"I am very pleased that we are able to make these
announcements here together on Australian soil,"
Obama said. "Because of these initiatives that are
the result of our countries working very closely
together as partners, we are going to be in a position
to more effectively strengthen the security of both of
our nations and this region."

Under the agreement, up to 250 U.S. Marines will be
sent to Darwin and the northern region of Australia
for military exercises and training. Over the next
several years their numbers are expected to climb to
2,500 -- a full Marine ground task force.
While U.S. officials cited the need to respond to
regional natural disasters as a reason for the
agreement, concern over China's military expansion
is widely acknowledged as a driving factor.

"What we look at is how does our general force
posture allow us to protect U.S. interests, protect our
allies, and ...
secure the region broadly," Deputy
National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters
traveling with the president. "China is obviously a
piece of the Asia Pacific region, an emerging power.
"
Rhodes later added that the deal is "part of the U.S.

sending a signal that we're going to be present, that
we're going to continue to play the role of
underpinning security in this part of the region.
Part
of that context is a rising China."
Analysts note that the deal sends a message to
China in a less confrontational way than building up
bases closer to Chinese shores.
"The Chinese can squawk about it," said Patrick
Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security
Program at the Center for a New American Security.
"But it's not like having an aircraft carrier in the
Yellow Sea."

Obama himself, however, insisted during his news
conference that "the notion that we fear China is
mistaken."

The president's Australian visit -- postponed twice in
2009 and 2010 due to an oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico and other domestic political considerations --
highlights a changing balance of power in the Pacific
as China expands its military reach and the United
States works to reduce its military footprint in Japan.

Obama's Australian visit comes on the heels of last
weekend's 19-nation Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit, which highlighted the need for
new measures supporting job growth. During the
Hawaiian summit, Obama stressed the importance of
the Pacific to global economic security, and he
pushed China to do more to help strengthen the
world economy.

After wrapping up his visit to Australia, Obama will
conclude his Pacific trip with a stop in Indonesia -- a
country he spent several years living in during his
childhood.