US says force rebalancing will benefit everyone

Senior US officials maintained on Thursday that the recently announced plan to station US marines in northern Australia would benefit everyone in the region.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Scott Marciel said the plan was actually a bilateral matter between the Australian and US governments and emphasized the need for openness and transparency.

He said that the US had communicated the plan with other countries in the region.

“Five years ago, when I returned to Southeast Asia, there were complaints in general that the US was not doing enough in the region,” he said.

Marciel was speaking at an international workshop titled “Enhancing Defense Cooperation in Public Affairs”, held by the Indonesian Defense Ministry and opened by Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

Marciel was accompanying the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy Daniel Y Chiu and the US Marine Corps Forces pacific commander Lt. Gen. Duane D Thiessen.

Also present were the defense attachés of ASEAN countries in Jakarta, as well as the senior editors of Indonesian media outlets.

Many analysts and observers said the deployment of US marines in Darwin, some 820 kilometers from Indonesia’s borders, was aimed at balancing China’s rising power in the region.

Such notions were dismissed by Chiu, who said that the US was looking for collaboration and training with other countries in the region.

“We are rebalancing and restoring focus to the Asia-Pacific region. We’ve been friends and allies for a long time,” he said.

“There are many opportunities to pursue collaboration and many methods, not just military.”

Thiessen said the deployment would allow training and engagement with countries in the region.

When asked how to assure those countries that the US presence would benefit the region, Marciel said: “It is in our national interest for Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries to be peaceful and
prosperous.”

On Nov. 16, 2011, US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard unveiled plans to deepen the US’ military presence in the Asia-Pacific region by establishing a US base equipped with 2,500 US marines located near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Beginning in mid 2012, Australia will host deployments of company-size rotations of 200 to 250 marines for six-month rotations.

This presence will expand to a full Marine Air Ground Task Force of about 2,500 personnel in the next several years.

Despite defense budget cuts and plans to reduce forces in Afghanistan, Europe and Iraq, Chiu said it was not a zero-sum game, where the US was plucking its soldiers from one part of the world and placing them in another.

Meanwhile, Sjafrie told reporters that the ministry planned to buy up to eight AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the US.

“So far there has been no deal for the Apaches. We only have reached a deal for the granting and upgrade of the F-16 jet fighters,” he said.