The Associated Press: Countering China, US sets training in Australia
Signaling a determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and “project power and deter threats to peace” in that part of the world even as he reduces defense spending and winds down two wars.
“The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay,” he declared in a speech to the Australian Parliament, sending an unmistakable message to Beijing.
Obama addressed the Parliament a day after announcing a commitment to send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia, a modest though visible response to a growing China, by far the biggest and most powerful country in the region.
He said a U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region is a top priority of his administration and stressed that any reductions in U.S. defense spending will not come at the expense of that goal.
“As President, I’ve therefore made a deliberate and strategic decision-as a Pacific nation, the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future, by upholding core principles and in close partnership with allies and friends,” he said.