14 June 2013 (12:10 UTC-07 Tango)/05 Sha’ban 1434/24 Khordad 1391/07 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
It’s been revealed that President Barack Obama is increasing the number of U.S. Marines occupying Australia.
Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, announced that they’ve agreed to allow 1150 U.S. Marines to be deployed in the city of Darwin next year. Currently about 200 Marines spend six months a year, in the Darwin area, playing army with Aussie Diggers. There are other U.S. military personnel stationed elsewhere in Australia.
In 2011 Obama announced he would be stationing at least 2500 Marines and U.S. Air Force airmen in Australia.
Analysts point out that the city of Darwin has a strategic advantage to quickly deploy troops against China!
In the U.S. state of California, it was revealed that for the first time ever all three branches of the Japanese Self Defense Forces are taking part in a major war game with U.S. Marines, Canadian navy and New Zealand. Officials from Australia and Singapore are observing operation Dawn Blitz 2013.
The war games began this past week, and involve (as in recent smaller war games with U.S. Marines) the invasion and capture of islands. If you’ve been following news out of East Asia you’d know that Japan and China are at odds over certain islands, even threatening war over them.
The U.S. sponsored Dawn Blitz wargames began in 2010, which is about when Japan began ratcheting up their claims on disputed islands. Recently Japan took over a island and China is demanding it be returned to them.
Japanese claims are upsetting not only China, but Russia, Korea (both north & U.S. ally south) and even U.S. ally Taiwan. The Obama administration has repeatedly stated they support Japan’s claims on the disputed islands.