A brigade-strengthened Japanese military will train with US Marines in northern Australia from 2025 onwards, it was confirmed at high-level talks in the Northern Territory's capital Darwin on Sunday.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles also made the announcement, along with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Austin and Marrs attended a tripartite meeting focused on regional security with their Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, as all three countries grow increasingly anxious about a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, ABC News said. report.
“Today, we are announcing the regular deployment of the Japanese Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade to Australia,” Mr Marrs said at a televised news conference in Darwin.
Marles said in an earlier statement that the talks also included plans to send Japan's elite Rapid Deployment Brigade to northern Australia, which diplomatic sources said would begin with the next U.S. Marine Corps rotation in 2025. He said it was planned.
“The trilateral partnership between Australia, Japan and the United States is built on shared values, deep trust and an unwavering commitment to the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific region,” Mr Marles said.
Amid growing concerns about Beijing's continued militarization of the South China Sea, Marrs emphasized the importance of the relationship between Japan and the United States, saying, “Enduring partnership is critical to collective deterrence in our region.” said an ABC News report.
As reported by Breitbart News, under a 25-year agreement established in 2011, approximately 2,000 U.S. personnel are deployed between April and October each year as part of Marine Force Rotation Force Darwin (MRF-D). Military personnel have been deployed to northern Australia.
Australia is also considering allowing the United States to use its territory to operate long-range reconnaissance drones into the southwestern Pacific and beyond.
