SPY EYES

A DECISION to increase the US military presence in Australia was a clear signal to the Asia-Pacific region that ”we’re here to stay”, the US President, Barack Obama, declared last night.

In Australia for his first visit as president, Mr Obama said the decision to station Marines in the Top End and increase the visits of aircraft and, eventually, ships and submarines, should be seen as a ”clear message of our commitment to this region – a commitment that has endured and is unwavering”.

He said the US did not fear China, which has reacted suspiciously to the announcement, but given that the Asia-Pacific was the fastest growing economic region, ensuring its stability was critical to US military and economic interests.

”We’re here to stay. This is a region of huge strategic importance to us,” he said.

”We’re going to be in a position to more effectively strengthen the security of both of our nations and the region.”

As revealed in the Herald last week, Mr Obama and the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced last night that starting next year, US Marines would be based near Darwin for six months each year, with the numbers to reach 2500 by 2016.

In addition, US military aircraft – including bombers, fighters, tankers and spy planes – will increase their use of Tindal Air Force Base in the Northern Territory. Later US ships and submarines would use the Stirling Naval Base near Perth.

As well as conducting training exercises, including some without Australian forces, the US troops and equipment will be available for disaster and humanitarian relief. But the main purpose will be to maintain security amid the rise of China and India.

Asked whether it was a direct response to China, Mr Obama said the US welcomed ”a rising, peaceful China” but Beijing had to accept that with its rise came responsibility to be a good international citizen, economically and otherwise. ”It’s important for them to play by the rules,” he said.

Mr Obama said ”the notion that we fear China is mistaken”.

Although under severe pressure at home to balance his budget, Mr Obama said the extra spending to increase the military presence in Australia was right up there at the top of my priority list”.

Mr Obama appealed to an increasingly cynical Australian public to stick with both countries’ plan to keep troops in Afghanistan until 2014 by which time US and Australian troops are to be withdrawn.

He acknowledged the deaths of soldiers were ”heartbreaking” but for those sacrifices to be meaningful, something needed to be achieved.

”Given the enormous investment that’s been made and the signs that we can in fact leave behind a country that’s not perfect but more stable and more secure and not be a safe haven for terrorists, it’s appropriate for us to finish the job and do it right,” he said.

He supported a call by Ms Gillard for Australia to sell uranium to India for peaceful purposes, a policy change that needs to be ratified by the ALP at its national conference next month.

He lauded the ”bold strategy” to put a price on carbon and, stymied by Congress from doing the same thing, said it would be a tough slog for other nations to follow suit.

Mr Obama will address a joint sitting of Parliament today.