Australian Defense Minister Says More US Troops Good For Security

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2021) Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton on Thursday suggested the possibility of a larger number of US Marines and Navy vessels in Australia amid tensions with the neighboring Indo-Pacific nation of China.

At the Australian Strategic Policy Institute conference in Canberra, Dutton described relations between Australia and China as "productive", but excluded having deep military ties with China due to the position an history of Australia.

"I think that is in our own security interest and I think it is in the interest of the US as well," Dutton said on increasing number of American troops in Australia, as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.

He added that "as a consequence, the prospect of military conflict is less remote than in the past - especially through miscalculation or misunderstanding."

Relations between Australia and China have been getting tense for decades. Now they are considered the worst so far with Canberra's initiative to launch an inquiry into the COVID-19 origins and additional tariffs imposed on Australia by Beijing last year. The US warned China that the economic pressure might result in deterioration of US-China relations.