Friday, November 11, 2011

#Occupy Australia

President Barack Obama will announce an accord for a new and permanent U.S. military presence in Australia when he visits next week, a step aimed at countering China's influence and reasserting U.S. interest in the region, said people familiar with his plans.

The agreement will lead to an increase in U.S. naval operations off the coast of Australia and give American troops and ships "permanent and constant" access to Australian facilities, the people said. While no new American bases will be built under the plan, the arrangement will allow U.S. forces to place equipment in Australia and set up more joint exercises, they said.

The move could help the U.S. military, now concentrated in Japan and South Korea in Northeast Asia, to spread its influence west and south across the region, including the strategically and economically important South China Sea, which China considers as its sovereign territory.
Georgia and I spent three weeks in Australia three years ago, and had a wonderful time.  The people are friendly, speak our language (in their own inimitable style), and seem to be generally well informed. The country still has a lot of vitality that the US has lost, or is in the process of losing.  I suspect that the US military will find it a great place to visit.

However, I have my doubts as to how effective it will be at countering the Chinese influence in the region.  So does the author of the piece:
Gen. McOwan, the defense attaché, said the increase in U.S. naval operations will send a message to the Chinese that the U.S. is committed to defending the security of regional sea and air trade routes. The stepped-up American presence will reassure Australia and well as other countries in the region that the U.S. is engaged at a time when Chinese intentions are uncertain, he said.

Still, Gen. McOwan added that the American commitments Mr. Obama plans to announce are "not going to frighten the Chinese."

"It's more symbolic than real," he said.

No comments:

Post a Comment