Pakistan Measures in U.S. Defense Bill 'Counterproductive'

ISLAMABAD - Measures to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in funds for Pakistan in the recently passed U.S. defense authorization bill for 2012 have been labeled counterproductive by regional experts.

The measures seek to withhold $700 million for Pakistan until Congress is convinced by the defense secretary that Islamabad is moving to combat the IEDs used to attack NATO/ISAF troops in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government and military have not released a response to the measures.

However, former Australian defense attaché to Islamabad, Brian Cloughley, said the measures were "petty and spiteful" and "put in place by politicians who are anxious to play the patriotism card to win votes."

He said the measures were also unworkable as one of the main concerns of U.S authorities was to restrict the flow of fertilizer from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Fertilizer from Pakistan is a main ingredient in the production of homemade explosives.

Cloughley said that fertilizer was desperately needed in Afghanistan because of the generally poor soil quality and, therefore, he believes the fertilizer would be imported regardless of what the U.S. Congress wants.

"There is no possible means of detecting it other than individual search of every truck moving through official border check posts, including, of course, via northern routes," Cloughley said.

Cloughley added: "Fertilizer doesn't come only from Pakistan. It, along with much other contraband, enters through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; probably Iran, too."

He said Congress had also ignored the fact that "over 150,000 Pakistani troops have been committed to the western border, more than the U.S. and ISAF have in the whole of Afghanistan", and that "of the claimed 170,000 Afghan army troops supposed to be serving … only 3,000 to 4,000 [troops] are in the east of the country."

Even if Pakistan was able to stop the flow of fertilizer through the border crossings, Cloughley said smugglers would resort to more simple measures by loading it onto donkeys trained to make their own way across the border.

The withholding of finances is a keenly felt issue in Pakistan.

Analyst Haris Khan, of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank, said "Under the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) aid, no money or funds have been released since June 2011."

The Pakistani government and military have been somewhat silent on the non-payment of funds, Khan said.

Kahn described the silence in terms of the continued non-reimbursement of payments Pakistan made for 28 embargoed F-16C/Ds under the Pressler Amendment in the 1990s. Pakistan initially continued to make payments for the embargoed aircraft despite it being unlikely they would be released.

He said Pakistan should take a more forceful and "businesslike" approach to the non-payment of funds for services rendered, and be more active in demanding payments.

Just what Pakistan can do in this regard is uncertain, as all movement of NATO supplies through Pakistan has already stopped due to the NATO/ISAF attacks on two border posts on the night of Nov. 25/ 26.

Pakistan may not have much leverage, but Cloughley said he believes the U.S. is also in a similar position.

While the measures sound very severe, Cloughley said, "the freeze will not affect Pakistan gravely."

Ultimately, Cloughley said the measures are counterproductive as the "only definite outcome" will be "increased distrust and hatred of the U.S. throughout Pakistan."

Capability Reviews Bring Changes for Australia's Navy

MELBOURNE, Australia - The Australian government this week announced its response to two reports that criticize the operational capability of the Royal Australian Navy.

Speaking to media on Dec. 13, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Jason Clare, minister for defense materiel, announced the Navy would acquire an additional sealift ship to improve its amphibious capability, following withdrawal of two amphibious warfare vessels, Kanimbla and Manoora, due to poor condition earlier this year.

The ministers also detailed responses to the recently released first phase of a review of maintenance of the Navy's six Collins-class submarines by John Coles, an independent expert from BMT Defence Services in the U.K.

The review was commissioned following revelations that most, and sometimes all, of Australia's submarines were not able to put to sea for a period of time and that sustainment costs had increased dramatically.

Speaking during the commissioning of the RAN's amphibious ship Choules in Western Australia, Smith responded to Phase 1 of the Coles review, saying that implementation of the recommendations will begin immediately.

"The report shows very deep, long-standing difficulties so far as maintenance and sustainment of the Collins-class submarine is concerned," he said. "It points to very serious flaws over a long period of time and draws attention to the need for fundamental reform in the way in which maintenance and sustainment is effected. The report itself makes very salutary reading, and it is a no-holds-barred report into what I regard as a long-standing systemic difficulty so far as Collins-class maintenance is concerned."

The report identified a range of shortfalls, including poor availability, a lack of cohesion in strategic leadership, a lack of clarity about accountability and responsibility, unclear requirements and unrealistic goals.

Its recommendations include increasing the provision of spare parts, further training and the development of an In-Service Support Contract between the government's Defence Materiel Organisation and the Australian Submarine Corp., manufacturers of the Collins boats.

Phase 2 of the Coles report will be released in April.

The Rizzo report, commissioned to investigate Australia's amphibious capability and conducted by independent external reviewer Paul Rizzo, was submitted to government in July and has directly resulted in the plans to acquire a third vessel to complement Choules and the existing landing ship, Tobruk.

To cover the shortfall in the interim, the Australian Defence Force is leasing the subsea operations vessel Windemere from civilian sources.

"A commercial off-the-shelf vessel will be sought so that minimal modifications will be needed, allowing the ship to enter service in the course of 2012," Smith said. The new ship "will primarily be used to transport troops and supplies in support of humanitarian and disaster relief operations domestically and in the region. Detailed discussions on the purchase will be taken in the near future."

Responding to the Coles and Rizzo reviews, Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Ray Griggs said, "I see these reviews as a very important opportunity for Navy, and for me as the capability manager, to be able to exercise my responsibilities. I don't see them as a threat. I see them - and their candor and honesty - as extremely useful to me to exercise my responsibilities and to make sure that we work together to get the sustainment of our Collins submarines right."

Australia plans to build 12 conventionally powered submarines to replace the Collins boats in the next decade, and Smith and Clare also announced Dec. 13 that French shipbuilder DCNS, Germany's HDW and Spain's Navantia will be issued requests for information.

Australia has also contracted with Babcock to study the establishment of a land-based propulsion systems test facility in response to a Rand Corp. study into Australia's submarine design capabilities and capacities.

The government has held high-level discussions with the U.S. Navy on the Future Submarine Project, most recently during November's AUSMIN ministerial talks.

"The Future Submarine Project is the biggest and most complex defense project we have ever embarked upon," Clare said. "It will involve hundreds of companies, thousands of workers and a lot of skills that do not currently exist in sufficient numbers.

"Some of those skills are available overseas; others will have to be grown here. Now is the time to develop a plan to make sure we have the skills we need when we start designing and building the submarines."

Clare said future announcements regarding the program will be made in 2012.

Smith and Clare also announced a study into alternate methods of crewing some naval vessels with a mix of civilian and military crews in a manner similar to the Military Sealift Command in the U.S. or Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Australia Courts 3 Firms for Sub Fleet

SYDNEY - Australia said Dec. 13 it had invited three companies from France, Germany and Spain to submit designs for its new submarine fleet, a project expected to span the next 30 years.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Canberra had asked French naval defense firm DCNS, Spain's Navantia and HDW of Germany - a ThyssenKrupp subsidiary - to submit designs for the program, which will see 12 new submarines built.

"The Future Submarine Project is a major national undertaking and is of a scale, complexity and duration never before experienced within (the) Defence (Department)," Smith said, adding that Australia would need a "significant amount of help from overseas."

"The submarines will be constructed over the course of the next three decades."

Jason Clare, minister for defence materiel, said the Future Submarines Project would involve hundreds of companies, thousands of workers and many skills that "do not currently exist in sufficient numbers."

"Some of those skills are available overseas, others will have to be grown here. Now is the time to develop a plan to make sure we have the skills we need when we start designing and building the submarines," he said.

Australia unveiled plans in 2009 to spend more than $70 billion boosting its military capability over the next 20 years.

Rheinmetall, Thales Win Australia Vehicle Deals

SYDNEY, Australia - Germany's Rheinmetall MAN and French company Thales won contracts Dec. 12 worth billions of dollars to supply thousands of new military vehicles for the Australian Defence Force.

Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia will provide up to 2,700 protected and unprotected medium and heavy vehicles, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said.

There will be an option for approximately 1,000 more for training purposes.

"The new vehicles will improve performance and protection, as well as provide commonality across the fleet which will improve Army's training and logistic support requirements," said Smith.

He declined to say what the contract was worth, saying only that it was expected to be more than an original budget estimate from August 2007, when the government targeted about 3 billion Australian dollars for replacement vehicles.

In addition, Thales Australia's Hawkei unit was selected as the preferred supplier for a 1.5 billion-Australian-dollar contract to supply up to 1,300 protected and unprotected light vehicles, Smith added.

No further details were given.

Australia to Speed Afghan Withdrawal: Report

SYDNEY - Australia will dramatically cut the number of soldiers it has serving in Afghanistan over the next year, bringing forward to 2013 the bulk of its pullout from the war-torn nation, a report said Dec. 12.

The Sydney Morning Herald said sources had revealed that the Defence Department was working on a plan to drastically lower the number of troops mentoring Afghan soldiers in restive Uruzgan province by 2013.

Under the plan, only 150 soldiers will be rotated into Uruzgan as a group to mentor the Afghans in late 2012, a vastly reduced figure from the 900 currently there, it said, without naming sources.

"Why don't they leave a full complement of people there until the mentoring is completed to provide security for the Afghan and Australian forces?" one source told the paper. "The only reason I can think of is that it's politically expedient, and I just think that's unacceptable."

The Department of Defence had no immediate comment on the article.

Canberra has repeatedly said it intends to keep troops in the war-wracked nation until 2014, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard signaled last month that an earlier withdrawal could occur.

Gillard said the timing on completely handing over to Afghan forces in Uruzgan "may well be complete before the end of 2014" given the progress being made there.

The government has faced increasing pressure over the long-running Afghan campaign as fatalities from the conflict mount and following several incidents in which Afghan soldiers have fired on their Australian counterparts.

Canberra, which first committed to the war in 2001 before pulling out only to re-enter the arena in 2005, has so far lost 32 soldiers in the conflict. It has 1,550 troops stationed in the strife-torn country.

Gillard met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul in October, during which they discussed Australia's role in the country beyond 2014.

In an address to parliament in Canberra last month, Gillard said that Australia would be engaged in Afghanistan through this decade at least.

DoD Urges Stronger Ties to Stop Chem-Bio Attack

The Pentagon sees stronger allied partnerships as key to preventing chemical and biological attacks, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official.

Agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to work together to thwart "the unique threats that are coming our way" are even more critical as defense budgets decline globally, the officials said.

"We recognize, more so than ever, it's our partnerships that's going to enable us to field the best capabilities for our forces, for our nations working together," the official said Dec. 8. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of topic.

The Pentagon is facing a more than $450 billion reduction to planned spending over the next decade. It is unclear how the Pentagon budget reductions will impact the chemical and biological division. However, "there's a shared understanding that the [weapons of mass destruction] threat is very real, very serious and it is still a very high priority."

To that end, Pentagon officials are conducting a "strategic review and analysis" of chemical and biological defense programs, which kicked off in August, the official said. To address the spending reductions, officials realize "we needed to relook the whole" chemical and biological defense enterprise.

In addition, the Pentagon has started participating in a series of exercises with South Korea that are "taking a look at the bio defense problem in that region," the official said. The drill uses a "whole-of-government approach" and includes Seoul's Ministry of Defense, Center for Disease Control, law enforcement and others.

"We're helping our colleagues there go through some of the learning experiences we had in the United States in that interagency environment," the official said. "It's a new challenge for them, but the threat is ever more present on the peninsula today."

U.S., China Hold Military Talks

BEIJING - Chinese and US defense officials opened military talks in Beijing on Dec. 7 after ties were strained by American arms sales to Taiwan and a planned U.S. troop deployment in Australia.

The talks, led by Michele Flournoy, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, and her Chinese counterpart Ma Xiaotian, come a day after China's President Hu Jintao urged the navy to prepare for military combat.

China's official Xinhua news agency said military relations between the two powers, the situations in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea and the sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan would be on the agenda.They are the first ministry-level talks between the two nations since September, when Washington announced a $5.85 billion upgrade to Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets, angering Beijing, which considers the island a breakaway province.

Several Asian nations have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea, a strategically vital area believed to encompass huge oil and gas reserves, while China claims it all.

One-third of global seaborne trade passes through the maritime area and Vietnam and the Philippines have accused Chinese forces of increasing aggression there, ratcheting up tensions in the region.

On Dec. 6, Hu said in a speech to China's Central Military Commission that the navy needed to "make extended preparations for military combat in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security and world peace."

Opening the one-day annual meeting, Ma said the talks showed that "both countries are being sincere about maintaining military exchanges".

"Hopefully both sides will make the best of this opportunity to expand common ground, keep risks under control and avoid misjudgment," he added, according to Xinhua.

China's Hu to PLA Navy: Be Ready for Combat

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Dec. 6 urged the People's Liberation Army Navy to prepare for military combat, amid growing regional tensions over maritime disputes and a U.S. campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power.

The PLA Navy should "accelerate its transformation and modernization in a sturdy way, and make extended preparations for military combat in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security," he said.

Addressing the powerful Central Military Commission, Hu said: "Our work must closely encircle the main theme of national defense and military building."

His comments, which were posted in a statement on a government website, come as the United States and Beijing's neighbors have expressed concerns over its naval ambitions, particularly in the South China Sea.

Several Asian nations have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea, believed to encompass huge oil and gas reserves, while China claims it all. One-third of global seaborne trade passes through the region.

Vietnam and the Philippines have accused Chinese forces of increasing aggression there.

In a translation of Hu's comments, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the president as saying China's navy should "make extended preparations for warfare."

The Pentagon however downplayed Hu's speech, saying that Beijing had the right to develop its military, although it should do so transparently.

"They have a right to develop military capabilities and to plan, just as we do," said Pentagon spokesman George Little, but he added: "We have repeatedly called for transparency from the Chinese and that's part of the relationship we're continuing to build with the Chinese military."

Said another Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby: "Nobody's looking for a scrap here. Certainly we wouldn't begrudge any other nation the opportunity, the right to develop naval forces to be ready. Our naval forces are ready and they'll stay ready."

"We want to see stronger military-to-military ties with China and we want to see greater transparency," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. "That helps answer questions we might have about Chinese intentions."

Hu's announcement comes in the wake of trips to Asia by several senior U.S. officials, including President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

U.S. undersecretary of defense Michelle Flournoy is due to meet in Beijing with her Chinese counterparts on Dec. 7 for military-to-military talks.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last month warned against interference by "external forces" in regional territorial disputes including those in the South China Sea.

China said late last month it would conduct naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean, after Obama, who has dubbed himself America's first Pacific president, said the U.S. would deploy up to 2,500 Marines to Australia.

China's People's Liberation Army, the largest military in the world, is primarily a land force, but its Navy is playing an increasingly important role as Beijing grows more assertive about its territorial claims.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon warned that Beijing was increasingly focused on its naval power and had invested in high-tech weaponry that would extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond.

China's first aircraft carrier began its second sea trial last week after undergoing refurbishments and testing, the government said.

The 990-foot (300-metre) ship, a refitted former Soviet carrier, underwent five days of trials in August that sparked international concern about China's widening naval reach.

Beijing only confirmed this year that it was revamping the old Soviet ship and has repeatedly insisted that the carrier poses no threat to its neighbors, and will be used mainly for training and research purposes.

But the August sea trials were met with concern from regional powers including Japan and the United States, which called on Beijing to explain why it needs an aircraft carrier.

China, which publicly announced about 50 separate naval exercises in the seas off its coast over the past two years - usually after the event - says its military is only focused on defending the country's territory.

China Blasts U.S. Deployments to Australia

BEIJING - China criticized a U.S. decision to deploy up to 2,500 Marines to Australia on Nov. 30, calling it proof of a "Cold War mentality," in Beijing's strongest comments yet on the issue.

President Barack Obama announced earlier this month that the U.S. would station the Marines in the northern city of Darwin in what many have viewed as a bid to counterbalance China's growing might in Asia-Pacific.

"We believe that any consolidation or expansion of military alliances is a manifestation of a Cold War mentality," defense ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said in a statement.

It "does not conform with the current trends of peace, development and cooperation and is not conducive to enhancing mutual trust and cooperation between countries in the region".

Chinese state media has accused the U.S. president of trying to win votes by using his diplomatic ambitions in Asia to detract from U.S. economic woes.

Obama made the announcement as part of a week-long tour of the Pacific - during which he also took in three summits - aimed at asserting the United States as a Pacific power.

The U.S. views with increasing concern China's growing assertiveness in Asia-Pacific on territorial disputes, as do many of the Asian powerhouse's neighbors.

But China maintains it has a policy of "peaceful development" with all countries.

Geng said he hoped "relevant parties will do more to help peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, rather than the opposite.

China's First Aircraft Carrier Starts Second Trial

BEIJING - China's first aircraft carrier began its second sea trial on Nov. 29 after undergoing refurbishments and testing, the government said, as tensions over maritime territorial disputes in the region ran high.

The 300-meter (990-foot) ship, a refitted former Soviet carrier called the Varyag, underwent five days of trials in August that sparked international concern about China's widening naval reach.

"China's aircraft carrier platform, after successfully completing its first sea trial in August, returned to the shipyard as planned for further refitting and testing," the defense ministry said in a brief statement.

"The work has been carried out and it set sail again on November 29 to carry out relevant scientific and research experiments."

Beijing only confirmed this year that it was revamping the old Soviet ship and has repeatedly insisted that the carrier poses no threat to its neighbors and will be used mainly for training and research purposes.

But the August sea trials were met with concern from regional powers including Japan and the United States, which called on Beijing to explain why it needs an aircraft carrier.

The Nov. 29 announcement comes against a background of heightened tensions over maritime disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, where China's growing assertiveness has put it on collision course with the United States.

President Barack Obama this month irritated Beijing with a drive to enhance the U.S. role as a regional power, positioning Marines in northern Australia and pushing for a potentially transformational trans-Pacific trade pact.

Beijing sees the initiatives as intruding into its own sphere of influence, with the dispute over the South China Sea putting the two major world powers' differences into stark focus.

China claims all of the strategic area, as does Taiwan, while four Southeast Asian countries declare ownership of parts of it, with Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Beijing's forces of increasing aggression there.

The region is a conduit for more than one-third of the world's seaborne trade and half its traffic in oil and gas, and major petroleum deposits are believed to lie below the seabed.

The announcement of the carrier's second sea trial comes after Beijing said last week it would conduct "routine" naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean before the end of November.

China reportedly bought the carrier's immense armored hull - with no engine, electrics or propeller - from Ukraine in 1998.

The PLA - the world's largest active military - is extremely secretive about its defense programs, which benefit from a huge and expanding military budget boosted by the nation's runaway economic growth.

Earlier this year, China announced military spending would rise 12.7 percent to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion) in 2011.

Three-Way U.S.-China Drills Possible: Australia

SYDNEY - Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Nov. 22 said Canberra would seriously consider trilateral military training with the United States and China following the announcement of a US troop buildup in Darwin.
Smith said the move was suggested by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following talks with Australian leader Julia Gillard at last weekend's East Asia Summit in Bali after Beijing criticized the troop boost.

"We don't see it as something which would necessarily occur in the short term, but it's a good suggestion. It's an interesting suggestion," Smith said. "It's a positive suggestion and one which I think in the longer term could fall for serious consideration."
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa expressed reservations about the plan to bring some 2,500 U.S. Marines to northern Australia by 2016-17. The plan was unveiled by President Barack Obama during a flying visit to Canberra last week.
Natalegawa warned that it could inflame relations and create a "vicious circle of tensions and mistrust" in the region, urging transparency, particularly about the motives behind the move.
Indonesia is building up its own military cooperation with U.S. forces.
The United States and its allies have expressed concern over the intentions behind China's military build-up and called for greater transparency.
Smith said Australia already did training and exercises with China and had completed joint live-firing drills with its navy for the first time last year.
"We're working very hard with China and the PLA (People's Liberation Army) to do precisely that, to do some training, to do some exercises, and we encourage China and the United States to do that themselves as well," Smith said.
Such training "reduces the risk of miscalculation or misjudgment", he added.
Jeffrey Bleich, U.S. ambassador to Australia, said there were "a lot of variables" but Washington was interested in strengthening military ties.
"For the broad brushstrokes, yes, we want to work more with the Chinese military, and we're looking for opportunities to cooperate with all countries in the region," Bleich told The Australian newspaper. "If you have a lot of nations rising quickly and not understanding each other's intentions, you're always concerned about the risk of a misunderstanding. You want to be prepared for that."
The U.S. and Chinese navies have held joint search-and-rescue drills.
The two sides would carry out humanitarian rescue-and-disaster relief drills next year and joint anti-piracy drills in the Gulf of Aden this year, they announced in July.
But they do not stage joint live-fire drills like those the U.S. has with its ally South Korea.

Sino-Pakistani Special Forces Exercise Begins

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army on Nov. 14 announced the fourth in the series of joint Sino-Pakistani 'YOUYI/FRIENDSHIP' special forces exercises had commenced near the city of Jhelum, not far from here.
According to the military press release, YOUYI-IV is a brigade level exercise spread over two weeks that is "aimed at sharing mutual exchange of experience and information through a comprehensive training programme in real time."
Pakistani special forces have been heavily committed, and have gained considerable experience, in the war against the Taliban, as displayed during operations in Swat in May 2009 and South Waziristan in October 2009. They also have operated continuously with units such as the Special Operations Task Force, which has been used to hunt down high-profile targets in the country's Tribal Areas.
Recently, Pakistani special forces have undertaken a number of training exercises with other foreign counterparts. A weeklong Pakistani-Turkish exercise, ATTATURK-VII-2011, which took place at Cherat, the home of Pakistan's Special Service Group, concluded Sept. 29.
A three-week bilateral exercise with the Saudi army, AL-SAMSAAM-IV-2011, concluded in mid-October.
The Chinese special forces have not had much operational experience recently. When asked just what each party could offer the other, Brian Cloughley, a military analyst and former Australian defense attaché to Islamabad, said YOUYI-IV is "a normal training exercise between two nations with strong military links.
"There are always professional advantages in contacts of this sort, and each participant generally gets an equal amount of benefit."
He added, "exchange of information concerning tactical techniques is best effected in discussions and instructional periods rather than out in the field where, no matter how attentive people are to what's going on, there will always be things missed, simply because of the speed of activity."
He did not discount the value of the exercise, however, "because those involved will always get something out of it, sometimes a great deal."
The exercise commenced on the same day the South Asian News Agency reported that China and India are planning to revive their joint military exercises in 2012, after resuming their bilateral military exchanges four months ago.
Planning for the exercise will be laid out during the next round of annual defense consultative talks in mid-December.
The Sino-Indian exchange will be resumed after a four-year break due to a dispute in 2010, when China refused to issue a visa for Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal, then-Northern Army commander of troops in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

U.S. Marines to Be Based in Darwin: Report

SYDNEY - U.S. President Barack Obama will use a visit to Australia next week to announce that America will begin stationing Marines at a base in Darwin, reports said on Nov. 11.
In a front page exclusive, the Sydney Morning Herald said the new permanent military presence was a sign of heightened concern about the rise of China.

The U.S. currently has only a limited deployment in Australia, including the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility spy station near Alice Springs.
Obama arrives in the country on Nov. 16, visiting the capital Canberra before becoming the first U.S. president to travel to the Northern Territory when he lands in Darwin.
It is in the country's tropical north that he will make the announcement with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the newspaper said.
The Australian also reported the plan, saying that other locations for a U.S. presence were also possible, such as Perth in the west.
The U.S. will not be building a new base in Darwin, but instead will use the existing Robertson Barracks near the city.
The base is currently home to some 4,500 Australian soldiers and will need to be expanded to cater for the U.S. Marines, the reports said, citing sources who declined to detail how many troops or sailors would be rotating through.
U.S. Marines are already based at Okinawa in Japan and on Guam as America's chief combat force in the Pacific theater.
Federal cabinet minister Tony Burke would not confirm or deny the reports.
"Can't confirm it. I don't know the answer to your question," he told the Seven Network while Trade Minister Craig Emerson also would not comment when asked on Sky News.
The Herald cited former intelligence analyst Alan Dupont as saying the move was a response to the rise of China, which is boosting its military capabilities.
"And particularly, it's about the increased vulnerability of U.S. forces in Japan and Guam to the new generation of Chinese missiles."
Andrew Shearer, a former senior diplomat at the Australian embassy in Washington, told AFP: "There's no doubt we will see a significant announcement."
But he played down the China threat. "Everyone draws the China connection but it's as much to do with the rise of India as well. It's not all about defense, but to be able to conduct disaster relief, counter piracy and keep shipping lanes free.
"China certainly comes into their thinking, but it's not all about China," said Shearer, the director of studies at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Lockheed Martin Unveils Australian Cyber Lab

CANBERRA - Lockheed Martin has unveiled its latest NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Centre (NCITE) facility in Canberra, joining existing sites in the United States and United Kingdom.
The 10 million-Australian dollar ($10.38 million) center, known as NCITE AU, occupies a reconfigurable, 900-square-meter area of the company's new headquarters in the nation's capital. When fully operational, about 200 people will work in the facility.

The official opening will occur in March, when the center will reach full operational capability. The company said it will link with the other two labs and bring together leading technologies and talent in a secure environment.
"The investment in the NCITE AU demonstrates Lockheed Martin's long-term commitment to Australia and the desire to serve its national security requirements." said Raydon Gates, chief executive of Lockheed Martin Australia.
"It will provide us with a base to service customer needs in both the civil and military markets, along with a platform to leverage industry partner and Lockheed Martin technologies to create rapid prototypes to speed innovation of solution delivery, while providing seamless advanced cybersecurity," he said.
"Networks and platforms must be defended against breaches," added Curt Aubley, Lockheed's vice president and chief technology officer of cybersecurity and NexGen Innovation. "By building trust and resilience in the systems we build and use for ourselves, Lockheed Martin and its industry partners can assure our customers that we have the capabilities and technology to do the same for them."
According to Aubley, the facility will also be part of a Global Cyber Innovation Range.
"We will be able to conduct offensive and defensive control testing and wildfire work on the Internet," he said. "It is a separate network where we can train offensive versus defensive, so we can rapidly learn in a safe and secure environment."
It will operate three private and one public computing clouds and operate to a secret level, Aubley said.
Lockheed also is considering incorporating a Systems Intelligence center in the facility in the future.
Other NCITE facilities, together with Systems Intelligence centers, are located in Gaithersburg, Md., and Ampthill, U.K.
The company also announced the imminent formation of what is tentatively known as the Global Innovation Alliance to harness the resources of leading technology providers in Australia. Inaugural members of the alliance will include Australian National University (ANU) Edge, Computer Associates, Dell, Glasswall Solutions, Hewlett-Packard, McAfee, Quintessence Labs, Schneider Electric and Taskey. Other organizations also are reportedly interested.
"By bringing the combined strengths of leading universities such as the ANU together with industry partners to address the challenge of cybersecurity, we can accelerate the development of effective solutions to growing threats without boundaries or limitations," said ANU Edge Professor Mick Cardrew-Hall, speaking on behalf of Canberra-based IT service providers.
"To defend against advanced persistent threats, we need to build effective security ecosystems based on collaboration, knowledge sharing and the rapid uptake of best practices," he said.
Cyberspace threats were recently added to consultative arrangements within the Australia, New Zealand, United States Treaty and the Australian government is fast-tracking a cybersecurity white paper, that was flagged in the defense white paper of 2009.

Vietnam In Talks to Buy 4 Sigma-class Corvettes

TAIPEI - Vietnam is in talks with Dutch-shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) for the purchase of four Sigma-class corvettes, a U.S. defense official said.
Two of the ships will reportedly be built in Vietnam, where the technology transfer will be an "important contribution" to the country's ability to develop its navy and a "national capability for warship repair and maintenance," said Sam Bateman from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

In 2005, Vietnam canceled plans to build Project 2100-type corvettes because the task was beyond its technical capacity.
"Vietnam has been able to assembly BPS 2000 corvettes from knock up kits, but was not able to step up to taking charge of the construction process," said Carlyle Thayer of the Australian Defence Force Academy.
But the SIGMA vessels - the acronym stands for Ship Integrated Geometrical Modularity Approach - "represents a revolutionary new modular technology in which ships from 50 meters to 150 meters can be built," Thayer said.
There has been no confirmation on what type of Sigma-class vessel is under consideration.
Vietnam will be joining Indonesia and Morocco in operating Sigma-class vessels. Indonesia began taking delivery of four Sigma-class vessels in 2007; a year later, Morocco signed a $2.12 billion contract for three vessels that are now being delivered.
"This represents a major stride forward in Vietnamese defense industry capabilities," Thayer said. "The SIGMA class represents a major step forward in technology and tonnage."
Vietnam's navy has been expanding both its surface and submarine fleet with new procurements from Russia, including Kilo-class submarines. The modernization effort is part of a response to China's growing military clout in the South China Sea and territorial disputes over islands claimed by both nations.
"The bottom line is that Vietnam is stepping up the pace of acquiring modern ships capable of defending Vietnamese interests in its Exclusive Economic Zone, such as armed escort for oil exploration vessels," Thayer said.
Beijing has thus far used mainly civilian enforcement vessels in its dispute with Vietnam, but now "China will now have to decide whether to accept the new status quo or commit to deploying PLAN [People's Liberation Army Navy] ships," he said.
In May, three Chinese vessels operated by the State Oceanic Administration harassed a Vietnamese oil exploration seismic survey vessel inside Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone.
China and Vietnam have been bumping into one another in the South China Sea since the 1970s. In 1974, China took the Paracel Islands by military force from then-South Vietnam, but Hanoi continues to claim the islands. Then, in 1988, China and Vietnam fought over the Johnson South Reef in the South China Sea. China sank two Vietnamese naval vessels and opened fired on Vietnamese troops occupying the reef, killing 30.

Afghan soldier turns gun on Australian troops, wounds three

Last updated: 2 hours ago

An Afghan soldier shot and wounded three Australian and two Afghan troops . — Photo by AFP

KABUL: An Afghan soldier shot and wounded three Australian and two Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan, the third such surprise attack against Australians in the past five months, officials said on Wednesday.
The shooting comes after a string of attacks by “rogue” soldiers and police, or by insurgents who have infiltrated security forces.
Such attacks are especially damaging as the Afghan National Army (ANA) tries to win public trust before Afghan forces take full responsibility for security nationwide.
Foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
The ANA soldier opened fire with a grenade launcher and an automatic weapon from a position overlooking a patrol base in Uruzgan province late on Tuesday, Australia’s Defence Force commander David Hurley said.
The Australian soldiers sustained wounds that were not life-threatening but serious, while the two Afghan soldiers also shot at the base were in a satisfactory condition, Hurley and a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said.
The Afghan soldier fled the scene in an army vehicle, Hurley said. ISAF said a search for him was still underway.
Tuesday’s shooting followed a similar attack less than two weeks ago in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, when an Afghan soldier shot and killed three Australian soldiers and an Afghani interpreter.
In May, an Afghan soldier killed an Australian service member who had been mentoring the Afghan army, ISAF said, an attack which also took place in Uruzgan province.
The Afghan soldier was later killed when he refused arrest, ISAF said.
The latest shooting prompted the Australian Greens political party to renew their call for Australia to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, where it has around 1,500 troops.
But Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who made a surprise visit to Kabul in the past week, said Australia would stick with its military commitments in Afghanistan.
“As distressing as these incidents are, as dreadful as these incidents are, our mission in Afghanistan does need to continue,” Gillard told reporters in Melbourne.
“Training is pivotal to that mission and our purpose in Afghanistan is to deny Afghanistan as a country in which terrorists can train to wreak violence around the world.”
In September, an Afghan guard employed by the US embassy opened fire inside a CIA office in Kabul, killing an American contractor.

Panetta Presses Japan on U.S. Base Move

TOKYO - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Oct. 25 that it was critical for Japan to press ahead with the relocation of a controversial air base on a southern island to ensure the region's security.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa answer questions during a joint press conference Oct. 25. (Toru Yamanaka / AFP via Getty Images)

In an effort to galvanize the stalled move amid public opposition, Japanese leaders pledged to issue an environmental impact report on shifting the Futenma Air Station from a residential area on Okinawa to a nearby coastal spot.

"The minister assured me... the government of Japan's intention to move forward with steps necessary with the Futenma replacement facility," Panetta said during a joint press conference with Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa.
"This is a critical initiative in our effort to maintain a strong, forward-deployment presence in the Pacific region," Panetta said.
A long-standing agreement between Washington and Tokyo was set to see the Futenma air base moved by 2014.
But local objections and a policy flip-flop by a former prime minister have stalled the plan, putting a distinct chill on relations between the long-time security allies.
The governor of the area in which the new base is expected to be built will still have the final say on whether to allow the construction of a new facility, regardless of the environmental report by the central government.
Okinawa has long been a reluctant host to around half of the nearly 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan. Locals complain of noise, the risk of military accidents and of crimes committed by U.S. soldiers.
Panetta reiterated that the base realignment will come alongside the redeployment of about 8,000 U.S. service personnel from Okinawa to Guam.
"It is also important to reducing the impact of our bases in Okinawa," he said.
Meanwhile, Ichikawa and Panetta reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan security alliance as a "cornerstone" of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
The Pentagon chief, who also met with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, was in Japan on the second leg of a tour of Asian allies where he has repeatedly stressed Washington's commitment to remaining a Pacific power, as nations in the region nervously eye China's growing military might.
Panetta said Washington will jointly will work with Japan, South Korea and Australia to "effectively address many shared challenges" of living next to the communist country.
"Together, we will also work to encourage China's emergence as a responsible and positive partner in building regional stability and prosperity, cooperating on global issues, and upholding international norms and rules of behaviors," he said, without elaborating.
Panetta is scheduled to head to South Korea on Oct. 26.