PM: No Plans for U.S. to Base B-1 Bombers in Australia
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday denied the United States had plans to base B-1 bombers in the country, saying an American official had "misspoken" on the issue.
Assistant Defense Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear spoke this week of the deployment of the aircraft at a hearing on safeguarding US interests in the East and South China Seas.
"We -- under the redeployment of long-term, medium to long-term redeployment of Marines in Okinawa -- we will be moving significant numbers of Marines to Hawaii, Guam and Australia," Shear said.
"We will be placing additional Air Force assets in Australia as well, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft," he told the Senate hearing.
Asked about the comments, Abbott said he had sought information on Shear's testimony but denied that the United States would deploy the long-range, supersonic bombers to Australia.
"I understand that the official misspoke and that the US does not have any plans to base those aircraft in Australia," the prime minister told reporters.
The United States already rotates Marines through northern Australia, a move announced by President Barack Obama in 2011 as part of a "pivot" of U.S. military assets towards Asia which has rankled China.
Abbott on Friday emphasized the importance of the U.S. involvement in the Asia-Pacific, but said the alliance between Canberra and Washington was "not aimed at anyone".
"We welcomed that pivot. I see the greater presence of the U.S. in our part of the world as a force of stability," Abbott said.
"Our alliance is not aimed at anyone. It is an alliance for stability, for peace, for progress, for justice, and it's going to be a cornerstone of the stability of our region for many decades to come."
U.S. officials this week said they may send warships and aircraft to monitor artificial islands built by China as it asserts territorial claims in the South China Sea -- home to vital shipping lanes.
Asked whether China posed a threat to the region, Abbott said Australia's biggest trading partner was a "good friend", adding: "Occasionally we have disagreements with China."
Abbott said that Australia had taken issue with China strongly when it declared an air defense identification zone over much of the East China Sea -- including islands administered by Japan -- in late 2013.
"I guess the point that we want to make is that freedom of the sea and freedom of the air is absolute," Abbott said.
"Yes, people are entitled to sovereignty over what is their territory, but we've got to maintain freedom of navigation of the seas and in the air, and Australia will always be working with our friends and partners to ensure that this is the case."