Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
US says Australia 'critical pillar' in Asia pivot
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 1, 2013


Australia is a "critical pillar" in the US pivot to Asia and the rebalancing of its military strategy, the region's most senior American commander told reporters Friday.

Chief of US Pacific Command (PACOM) Samuel Locklear speaking in a teleconference from Hawaii, said the key US ally was vital in the world order that is emerging for the 21st Century.

Locklear said the challenges the US faced included climate change, maritime security, disaster relief and cyber security.

"All those things I view from the PACOM headquarters here, Australia is a critical pillar of the strategy we have here," Locklear said.

"When... I go down to Canberra and I sit and I look at the world map from Australia being in the centre of it, I get a very different view than I get from Hawaii or from Washington DC.

"And I start to have a sense of the things of the security environment that concerned people of Australia as well as people in Indonesia, in India and other countries."

Locklear said seen from this perspective, the Indian Ocean is a vital strategic region that cannot be thought of separately from the Asia-Pacific.

"When we look at our relationship with Australia, number one, a very good close ally, historically has been alongside with the US many times in the past, and I think will hopefully continue in the future," he said.

The US military is to station a powerful radar and a space telescope in Australia as part of a refocusing of priorities, the two countries announced in November.

The two sides also conferred on increasing the number of US Marines deploying to Darwin.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta described it as "major leap forward in bilateral space cooperation and an important new frontier in the United States' rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region".

In his first term as US President, Barack Obama said he wanted to refocus foreign policy on Asia, in a move that has been much trailed as a "pivot".

.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SUPERPOWERS
No new bases in Asia: US commander
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 1, 2013
The United States' pivot to Asia will not mean any new bases in the region, but existing alliances will be strengthened and modernised, the chief of US Pacific Command (PACOM) told reporters Friday. "The US has no intention of establishing more bases" in Asia, Admiral Samuel Locklear told reporters in a telephone news conference from PACOM headquarters in Hawaii. "What we hope to do with ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Mission would drag asteroid to the moon

SUPERPOWERS
Ridges on Mars suggest ancient flowing water

Changes on Mars Caused by Seasonal Thawing of CO2

Is there life on Mars?

Opportunity At Work At Whitewater Lake

SUPERPOWERS
Companies prepare commercial spacecraft

NASA to recycle parts for science work

TDRS-K Offers Upgrade to Vital Communications Net

How to predict the future of technology

SUPERPOWERS
Reshuffle for Tiangong

China to launch 20 spacecrafts in 2013

Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

SUPERPOWERS
NASA to Send Inflatable Pod to International Space Station

ISS to get inflatable module

ESA workhorse to power NASA's Orion spacecraft

Competition Hopes To Fine Tune ISS Solar Array Shadowing

SUPERPOWERS
Spacecom And Spacex Announce Agreement For Amos-6 Satellite Launch

S. Korea joins global space club with satellite launch

Russia Set for Year's First Baikonur Space Launch Feb. 5

First Ariane 5 For 2013 Ready For Loading

SUPERPOWERS
The Origin And Maintenance Of A Retrograde Exoplanet

New Evidence Indicates Auroras Occur Outside Our Solar System

Glitch has space telescope shut down

Earth-size planets common in galaxy

SUPERPOWERS
Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched

Stanford Researchers Break Million-core Supercomputer Barrier

Scientists trick iron-eating bacteria into breathing electrons instead

Demagnetization by rapid spin transport




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement