Australia to sign 25-year US Marine agreement:
Australia and the United States will sign a 25-year deal allowing 2,500 US Marines and air force personnel to train Down Under, Defence Minister David Johnston said Monday, describing it as a "win-win situation".
The agreement will be inked Tuesday when US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel meet with their Australian counterparts Julie Bishop and Johnston in Sydney.Trouble spots abroad including Iraq and Ukraine will also be on the agenda for the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), which focus on regional security and military cooperation.But the centrepiece will be the agreement allowing the Marine rotational deployment in the northern city of Darwin, which was first announced by US President Barack Obama in 2011 as part of his "pivot" towards Asia.
"Approximately 2,500 US defence force personnel will come to primarily the Northern Territory to exercise on the vast, open Commonwealth (government) military exercise grounds that we have," Johnston told a joint press conference with Hagel.
"They will interoperate with Australia. They will do things that they want to, exercise activities that are important to them. We'll assist them."
