Gradual changes are happening in defense dispositions in Australia, in terms of future possibilities and actual happenings. Perceptions of a withdrawal of US forces and any decline in the US's relative power may depend on the country and the officialness of the country's institutions.
Precise details remain tightly guarded but senior defence and federal government figures concede the proposal may risk angering China even though it's a commercial port, not a new military base.
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Projected site of Glyde Point Port (which may accommodate US warships) relative to Darwin Port (leased to a Chinese company for 99 years). (Map above courtesy ABC News June 2019) ---
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The folly of leasing Darwin Port for 99 years. Map illustrates Darwin's key position in relation to some strategic concerns (eg. Indonesia, now independent East Timor and Papua New Guinea). Originating map-maker unknown.---
Following Submarine Matters’ article “US told 2 Days After Sale of Port of Darwin to a Chinese Company” November 24, 2015, Australia’s ABC News reportedJune 23, 2019:
“Secret plans for new port outside Darwin to accommodate visiting US Marines”
"Secret planning has begun for a new port facility just outside Darwin which could eventually help US Marines operate more readily in the Indo-Pacific.
Precise details remain tightly guarded but senior defence and federal government figures concede the proposal may risk angering China even though it's a commercial port, not a new military base.
Multiple officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have confirmed to the ABC the multi-use development would be in the Glyde Point area, roughly 40 kilometres north-east of Darwin's existing port.[see map above]
In the past, the location has been earmarked by the Northern Territory Government as a possible future industrial port site given its relatively deep waters, but funding arrangements for the yet-to-be announced project remain unclear.
Darwin port, which was controversially leased to a Chinese company in 2015, has existing defence facilities such as a multi-user barge ramp, but the new proposed facility would have the additional advantages of being less busy and less visible.
If approved, the new [Glyde Point] port could eventually be able to accommodate large amphibious warships such as Australia's Landing Helicopter Docks, and American vessels such as the USS Wasp, which recently arrived in Sydney. Strategic experts believe a new deep-water port would be ideally suited for the more than 2,000 US Marines and their equipment during regular rotationsthrough [Australia's Northern Territory].
"The Americans are clearly not withdrawing from the Indo-Pacific, whether it's because of their strategic competition with China or more generally," said [Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.]
Pete