CHANGING WORLD 2012 -- Japan and East Asia / U.S. increasing military forces in Australia

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The world has been thrust into a period of great change due to China's emergence and the geopolitical decline of Western powers. This series of articles deals with the formation of a new national order, and potential leadership changes in the United States, China and Russia this year. This second installment focuses on the importance of the northern Australian city of Darwin for the United States in the Pacific.

Under the glaring sun, the temperature reaches 35 C in tropical Darwin, Australia's northernmost port town.

On the 19th of February 1942, planes from the Imperial Japanese Navy, which had been the driving force of Japan's advance in the Pacific, heavily bombed Darwin, targeting ships and two airfields in an attempt to destroy allied forces. Attacks against the city continued, but four months later the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet suffered devastating losses in the battle of Midway, which was a turning point in the Pacific War. Darwin was then used by U.S. forces as a key base for its counterattack through the Pacific region.

"The Japanese bombing on the 19th of February is known as Australia's Pearl Harbor," said Graeme Sawyer, Darwin's lord mayor. "The same strike forces hit here. There was an American presence and a significant number of American servicemen lost their lives. Our alliance [with the United States] grew due to the attack."

Darwin has since served as an important outpost for other U.S. military campaigns. It was used as a supply base for U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

In November, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Australia to proclaim a strategic shift in defense policy with a renewed focus on Asia.

He announced that the United States will begin stationing 200 to 250 marines in Darwin from mid-2012 to strengthen the Australia-U.S. alliance known as ANZUS. The United States is wary of China's growing influence in the region, including the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and East China Sea.

The main purpose of U.S. forces stationed in Darwin is so that the area can be used as a base in the event of a military contingency in Asia. The United States will expand the troop deployment to 2,500 marines who will be deployed in short-term shifts.

The U.S. marines are expected to be stationed at Robertson Barracks, which is home to about 5,000 Australian soldiers. The barracks is about a 20-minute drive from central Darwin, which is home to about 75,000 people.

An Australian forces official said the Australian forces will be able to hold joint exercises with U.S. forces stationed at the barracks as often as they like.

One of the world's largest military exercise areas, which is more than 10,000 square kilometers, is located just south of Darwin. This space represents the great potential of what Obama has described as the United States' closest ally.

Australia does not view China as its enemy, as Japan was to the country 70 years ago. Without this trading partner, the economies of Darwin and Australia as a whole might not survive.

According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, China accounted for 113.3 billion Australian dollars of trade (about 9 trillion yen) in fiscal 2010, accounting for 19.7 percent of the nation's total and making it Australia's largest trade partner. Exports to China increased by 23.7 percent from the previous fiscal year, and include primary resources such as crude oil produced off Darwin and iron ore.

"We sell resources to them [China] and they sell things to us," said Tom Lewis, director of the Darwin Military Museum. "That's all."

In Sawyer's office, there is a display of caps that were given as gifts by foreign naval vessels, including U.S. ships, that have called in to the port of Darwin. One cap bears "PLA [People's Liberation Army] Navy528."

The cap is from the Chinese frigate Mianyang, which made the first official visit to Darwin by a Chinese naval vessel in October 2010, showing that China also recognizes the city's strategic value.