U.S. and Australia Navies Boost Ties

Chief of Navy Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert

The U.S. Navy is considering a plan to regularly dock warships in Australia and wants to broaden maritime exercises with India, in an expansion of security ties that risks exacerbating rivalries with China.

U.S. Chief of Navy Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, visiting Australia to inspect port facilities in the northern city of Darwin, said military officials from both countries were looking to increase maritime cooperation.

U.S. Navy warship USS John McCain is docked at the Subic 
Freeport to take part in a joint US-Philippines naval exercise. 
The U.S. could dock warships in Australia. Photo: AP

“We’re doing a study…to see what might be feasible for naval cooperation in and around Australia, which might include basing ships,” said Adm. Greenert, the Navy’s most senior commander and a military adviser to President Barack Obama.

The U.S. is gradually ramping up the number of Marines at a base outside Darwin as part of President Obama’s plan, announced in 2011, to rotate up to 2,500 there for six months every year. Washington is seeking more places where it can expand its military footprint in Asia without triggering a backlash.

Beijing has bristled over what it sees as Washington’s attempts to contain China’s rapid economic and military expansion. Territorial disputes between China and its neighbors have flared in recent years, prompting several countries, including U.S. allies such as India, Japan and Australia, to strengthen security ties.

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