Counterbalance

US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard have unveiled plans to deepen the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. From the middle of next year onwards, some 250 US marines will be stationed at a de facto base in the northern city of Darwin that is some 500 miles from Indonesia.

US troops and aircraft will thus be able to respond quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, where there is rising tension over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

"With my visit to the region, I am making it clear that the US is stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific region," President Obama told a joint news conference.

Reassuring China

Chinese concerns that Washington wants to encircle it with bases in Japan and South Korea and now Australia are not likely to be appeased but Obama insisted China would not be isolated. "We welcome a rising, peaceful China," he said. But he added that "it's important for them to play by the rules of the road and, in fact, help underwrite the rules that have allowed so much remarkable economic progress."

China for its part questioned the plan for the US to bring in ships, aircraft and vehicles to Darwin and increase military training. It said it was open to debate whether strengthening military alliances was beneficial to the international community. China stands for "peaceful development and cooperation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin. He told a press conference that global financial difficulties had driven home the need for greater international cooperation.　

A welcome counterbalance

But other Asian nations are more likely to welcome the increased US presence as a counterbalance to China's growing military power in the region. President Obama is expected to mention maritime security in the region at a regional summit in Bali later this week despite Beijing's opposition. China lays claim to the whole South China Sea, which is a vital commercial shipping route that is rich in oil, minerals and fishery resources. It says Washington should not get involved in disputes that can be resolved bilaterally.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all hold rival claims to at least parts of the sea.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton boosted a campaign by the Philippines to put up a united front against China over territorial disputes during a visit to the capital Manila. Although she did not refer directly to China, she said that the US would always be "in the corner of the Philippines and would "stand and fight" with it.

"Any nation with a claim has the right to exert it, but they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion," she added.

According to a poll published on Wednesday by an independent Australian think tank to coincide with Obama's 28-hour visit, a majority of Australians would welcome an upgrading of the 60-year-old formal military alliance between the two countries to allow US troops on Australian soil.　

Author: Anne Thomas (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Shamil Shams