Simply by showing up, President Barack Obama is making good on a promise twice deferred, to visit Australia.
It also will be an occasion to renew bonds with an exceptionally close US ally and strengthen the two nations’ Defence posture in the Pacific region.
Mr. Obama set out on Tuesday from Hawaii bound for the Australian capital of Canberra. Crossing the international dateline on Air Force One, he was to arrive mid-afternoon local time Wednesday for a day and a half visit.
For Mr. Obama and Australia, third time’s the charm. He cancelled two earlier visits, once to stay in town to lobby for passage of his health care bill, and again in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The president is expected to announce that the U.S. is expanding its military presence in Australia, positioning U.S. equipment there, increasing access to bases and conducting more joint exercises and training.
The moves would counter an increasingly aggressive China, which claims dominion over vast areas of the Pacific that the US considers international waters, and has alarmed smaller Asian neighbours by reigniting old territorial disputes, including confrontations over the South China Sea.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the goal is to signal that the US and Australia will stick together in face of any threats.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, speaking with reporters on the flight to Australia, said that serving as a counterweight to China’s growing influence was just one factor in the ramped-up U.S. military presence in Australia.
Others included being able to respond more quickly to natural disasters in the region, such as the devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year in Japan, and fighting terrorism and piracy on the high seas to help keep sea lanes of commerce open.
