PERTH, Australia: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Australia yesterday for annual strategic talks, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard describing the two countries as ‘good mates at every level’.
On what could be her final visit Down Under in her current role, Clinton will be joined by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for the discussions with Australian counterparts Bob Carr and Stephen Smith today.
They are expected to focus on regional security and greater American use of Australian facilities, particularly increased access to a key navy base south of Perth as the Indian Ocean rim region grows in strategic importance.
The talks follow the arrival of US Marine units to northern Australia this year as part of an American ‘re-balance’ towards the Pacific after a decade of ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US military currently has only a limited deployment in long-standing ally Australia, including the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility spy station near Alice Springs.
The move to station Marines here – some 2,500 by 2016-17 – represents a significant geo-strategic shift by Washington and it has irked Beijing, whose rapid rise is behind the US recalibration of forces to Asia.
As well as bilateral relations, Gillard, who was to host a dinner for Clinton and Panetta yesterday, said the talks would touch on the war in Afghanistan, conflict in Syria and nuclear issues involving Iran.
“These talks will also deal with discussing what President Obama and I agreed last year about military cooperation between our two countries,” she added.
“Last year President Obama and I announced that we had agreed that US Marines would be training on deployment in the Northern Territory. These talks will stocktake that progress and further defence cooperation.”
Australia has had a more than 60-year alliance with the US and Gillard described Washington as “the oldest of allies”, with which it shared strong strategic, defence and economic bonds. — AFP