US - Australia Military Ties

In November 2011, President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard tentatively agreed to an expansion of military ties, including drone flights from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean.




The Cocos Islands, a coral atoll, was previously used as a base for Allied fighters and bombers during World War II, attacking Japanese targets in southeast Asia.

U.S. and Australian officials said the atoll could be an ideal site not only for manned U.S. surveillance aircraft but for Global Hawks, an unarmed, high-altitude surveillance drone. The U.S. Navy is developing a newer version of the Global Hawk, known as the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance drone, or BAMS, that is scheduled to become operational in 2015. Aircraft based in the Cocos would be well-positioned to launch spy flights over the South China Sea.

However, Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said use of the Cocos is constrained by a needed $75 million upgrade to the island airstrip and a limited supply of fresh water restraining the number of people who can be accommodated.

Meanwhile, discussions are finalizing the planned deployment of 2,500 U.S. Marines to Darwin, on Australia's north coast, and the expansion of the Stirling Naval Base in Perth to provide for U.S. Navy ships and submarines.

U.S. military presence is also expected to be expanded in the Philippines and Singapore and the notion of a U.S. presence at Brisbane, on Australia's east coast, has also been mentioned.