U.S. to bolster air, navy activity in northern Australia: source

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The United States will bolster its air and navy presence in northern Australia, a source said on Tuesday, under a plan to strengthen defense ties with its regional ally and project more power into the Asia-Pacific, where China's influence is growing. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry are in Sydney to finalize an agreement reached between U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the deployment of U.S. marines to Australia for joint exercises and training. Some 1,150 Marines are stationed in Darwin in Australia's tropical north under a 2011 agreement that launched Obama's "pivot" to Asia. Officials were also finalizing an agreement to boost U.S. air and naval activity in sparsely populated and resource-rich northern Australia with an increased tempo of visits by U.S. fighter jets and bombers, said a source with direct knowledge of the discussions.




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