US President Barack Obama will use a visit to Australia next week

US President Barack Obama will use a visit to Australia next week to announce that America will begin stationing Marines at a base in Darwin, reports said on Friday.

In a front page exclusive, the Sydney Morning Herald said the new permanent military presence was a sign of heightened concern about the rise of China.

The US currently has only a limited deployment in Australia, including the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility spy station near Alice Springs.

Obama arrives in the country on Wednesday, visiting the capital Canberra before becoming the first US president to travel to the Northern Territory when he lands in Darwin.

The US will not be building a new base in Darwin, but instead will use the existing Robertson Barracks near the city.

The base is currently home to some 4,500 Australian soldiers and will need to be expanded to cater for the US Marines, the reports said, citing sources who declined to detail how many troops or sailors would be rotating through.

US Marines are already based at Okinawa in Japan and on Guam as America’s chief combat force in the Pacific theatre.

Federal cabinet minister Tony Burke would not confirm or deny the reports.

The Herald cited former intelligence analyst Alan Dupont as saying the move was a response to the rise of China, which is boosting its military capabilities.

Andrew Shearer, a former senior diplomat at the Australian embassy in Washington, told AFP: “There’s no doubt we will see a significant announcement.”

But he played down the China threat.

“Everyone draws the China connection but it’s as much to do with the rise of India as well. It’s not all about defence, but to be able to conduct disaster relief, counter piracy and keep shipping lanes free.

Source AFP