AFP, SYDNEY (AFP) Nov 18, 2003 – The United States wants to set up a defence “staging post” in northern Australia that would house large amounts of military hardware, it was reported here Tuesday.
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted US defence sources as saying the proposed facility at Darwin would contain large amounts of tanks, artillery and supplies.
But with Australia's northern neighbours, particularly Indonesia, likely to take a dim view of a major escalation of US military power so close to home, the newspaper said the sources insisted the facility was not a military base.
Instead, it would serve as a “staging post or logistics hub in a regional conflict”, the newspaper said.
It said no formal request had yet been made but noted Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill will meet his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in Washington this week.
The newspaper said Australia would benefit by gaining access to about 100 hi-tech Abrams tanks, while only paying for half of them.
It said the facility would not be solely manned by US personnel and it was likely that troops from both countries would train together.
Prime Minister John Howard said in August that he would consider allowing US military bases on Australian soil if approached by Washington.
The United States is undertaking a review of its military bases around the world following the war in Iraq and this week came under pressure to scale down its base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.
The US and Australia already jointly operate the top-secret Pine Gap base in the Australian outback, which monitors communications satellites.
The United States and Australia have a strong military alliance, with Canberra one of the staunchest supporters of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
However, the close relationship has at times heightened tensions with Australia's neighbours, particularly the view of Australia as a US “deputy sheriff” in Asia reinforced during a recent visit by US President George W. Bush.
