The US military’s presence in Australia is set to grow further, with the defence minister flagging upcoming announcements on a greater US “force posture” on Australian soil, the ABC reports.
Richard Marles met with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in Washington DC and discussed an expansion of the US presence on Australian military bases.
The United States already has a significant military presence in Australia through existing force posture agreements, including the annual rotation of US Marines through Darwin, and the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force — West at HMAS Stirling near Perth.
About 1,000 US Navy personnel are set to be based at HMAS Stirling from next year to support American Virginia-class submarines operating out of the naval base.
Mr Marles said the US military presence will grow further, with announcements expected when he and Foreign Minister Penny Wong meet their US counterparts in the next few months.
“You’ll hear more from us about what [those changes] are at AUSMIN when we meet,” he said.
“But … since we’ve come to government, you can see a through-line of growing American force in Australia, and we think that’s really important in terms of providing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, providing for stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific.
“And that’s very much in Australia’s national interest.”
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