US military will be based on Australian soil – just don’t call it a US ‘base’

When is a foreign military base not a military base?  When it’s a ‘lily-pad’ in the U.S. military’s global network of bases.

The Herald Sun reports: “US military hardware and personnel are set to be permanently placed in Australia, though both governments continue to avoid the word “base””. The U.S. is negotiating an agreement with Australia:

Defence Minister Stephen Smith in Washington yesterday revealed he was keen to cement formal links so that the US could:

POSITION military equipment on Australian soil.

HAVE greater access to Australian training and test ranges, such as Shoalwater Bay in Queensland and Woomera in SA.

REGULARLY use Australian bases and ports.

“The strategic focus of our discussions with the United States is to the north of Australia and to the strategically important arc running from the Indian Ocean through to the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr Smith told the Brookings Institution.

As the article points out, the bases would be aimed at containing China:  “Mr Smith will have raised eyebrows in Beijing with his admission that Australia is the “southern tier” of America’s strategic interest.”