U.S. Troops Head To Australia, Irk China

According to the New York Times, President Obama announced Wednesday that the United States would deploy 2,500 Marines in Australia to shore up alliances in Asia, but the move prompted a sharp response in Beijing, which accused Mr. Obama of escalating military tensions in the region.

The move to send 250 Marines to bases here for six-month tours starting next summer is the first step toward the administration’s larger goal of repositioning the United States as a leader on both economics and security in the fast-developing Asia Pacific. The pivot appears to be aimed at rethinking Washington’s global commitments at a time when the White House is attempting to draw down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and when budget cuts threaten to curtail defense spending, according to The Washington Post.

Though the number of U.S. troops is small — and they will be housed at Australian facilities, not separate American bases — the announcement was met with skepticism in Beijing. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin questioned whether strengthening and expanding the military alliance “is in line with the common interest” of countries in the region, according to the Washington Post.

“We think it deserves to be debated,” Liu said.

According to BBC News, Obama said, "As a Pacific nation the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future by upholding core principles and in close partnership with our allies and friends," at his meeting in Canberra, Australia. Mr Obama continued that as the world's biggest economy the US was keen to increase its presence in the region and play a bigger role in its development and progress.

At the same time he told the Australian Parliament that the US was working towards getting its own economy back on track. He said the US had taken some hard decisions to cut is deficit and will continue to do more to ensure that growth rebounded.

According to the Times, The president said the moves are not intended to isolate China, but they are an unmistakable sign that the United States has grown more wary of its intentions. While the new military commitment is relatively modest, Mr. Obama has promoted it as the cornerstone of a strategy to more directly confront the challenge posed by China’s rapid advance as an economic and military power. He has also made some progress in creating a new Pacific free-trade zone that would give America’s free-market allies in the region some trading privileges that do not immediately extend to China.

Without dwelling on China, Obama described the expanding alliance between the US and Australia as a way to help provide military training to forces from Australia and Southeast Asian countries. U.S. troops also would be able to help in the event of natural disasters and humanitarian crises in the region, according to The Washington Post.

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