A squadron of tiltrotor fighters will be dispatched to the northern Australian city of Darwin to join this year’s Marine Rotating Army.
The 10 Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys, also known as the Red Dragon, will be part of a unit of thousands of Marines training in the Australian Defense Force.
“The Red Dragons are excited to join the 5th Marine Corps as part of the MRF-D 2022 rotation,” said Lieutenant Colonel Vanessa Clark, commander of the Air Combat Elements, in a comment received by AAP on April 18. Said on the day.
“I am honored to work with the Australian Defense Force. The importance of the US and Australian teams cannot be exaggerated.”
The Osprey fleet follows the arrival of the largest US Air Force aircraft, a 75-meter-long C-5 Super Galaxy, arriving in Darwin in late March, followed by the early arrival of a B-2 stealth bomber.
The current seasonal exercise has been expanded to approximately 2,200 military personnel, with 250 U.S. military personnel expected to participate for the first time.
This initiative comes as part of a force stance to promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Army, who visited Darwin in late March, said he believed that Australia could be at risk of an attack from the north.
“There is certainly a threat,” he told reporters on March 23.
The Admiral mentioned the militarization of three artificial islands in the South China Sea by Beijing.
“They are full-fledged attack bases,” he said. “Runways, hangers, barracks, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-ship missiles, sabotage capabilities, fighter hangers, bombers.”
US and Australian officials are also concerned about recent security agreements “initiated” by Solomon Islands and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders.
If the agreement is fully implemented, the CCP will be able to open the door for troops, weapons and naval vessels to be stationed in the South China Sea, and the People’s Liberation Army will cross the South China Sea to less than 2,000 kilometers, a strategically important area. You can expand the reach. From the Australian coastline.
Australian and US politicians warned leaders of Solomon Island to oppose the deal, and Senator Bob Menendez (DN.J.) of the US Foreign Affairs Commission said Beijing was the “owner” of the Pacific state. He warned that he could become a “minder”.
“That is their ultimate goal, and they have shown that in Africa and elsewhere in the world, they appear to be coming in good faith, and with their compulsory economic policies. Practice is ultimately [means you are] Owned by China. In connection with the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.
Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale was critical of the deal, saying it was unnecessary to mitigate internal and external threats.
“All the impetus for the instability, anxiety and even the threat to national unity in the Solomon Islands is entirely internal,” he said in a statement.
Wale called Prime Minister Manasesogabare of the Solomon Islands a “mercenary” in Beijing and was looking forward to a day when Australia could have “accurate revenge.” The prime minister has long criticized his involvement in the region. He was engaged in it “colonialism”.
The opposition leader said, “That day [of vengeance] Arrived and he gladly stabbed his sword into Australia’s back. China is very happy to be able to impose obligations on Prime Minister Sogavale. There is consensus on this. “
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Daniel Y. Teng is based in Sydney. He focuses on national politics, including federal politics, COVID-19 response, and relations between Australia and China. Do you have a hint? Contact him at [email protected]