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Australia Critical to U.S. Pivot to Pacific

But forces must tread carefully as a new relationship is built.

Australia is a key toward successful implementation of the U.S. pivot to the Pacific, according to the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. Yet despite a longtime military relationship between the two allies, U.S. forces must be careful as they build their presence there, he added.

Lt. Gen. John A. Toolan, USMC, emphasized the importance of Australia in his Thursday breakfast address at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2014, being held December 9-11 in Honolulu. Gen. Toolan explained that the Marine presence in Australia is still in the early stages, and U.S. personnel must be careful they do not overextend their bounds there. He pointed out that Australia has a very close relationship with China, so the United States wants to develop its operations there carefully. Maybe in two years the Corps will have a 2,500-person Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) rotating in and out of Australia, Gen. Toolan offered.

The Marine Corps’ move to Australia has made a big difference in the Corps’ ability to move in theater with speed, the general explained. The Corps is looking at how it distributes its forces in the Pacific, and Australia is a key location for being able to move quickly into Southeast Asia.