Australia and the United States announced expanded military cooperation on Thursday, including rotational deployments of all types of U.S. military aircraft to Australia, a day after announcing a submarine deal denounced by China as intensifying a regional arms race.
Speaking after meetings between the U.S. and Australian foreign and defense ministers, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the two sides would be “significantly enhancing our force posture cooperation, increasing interoperability and deepening alliance activities in the Indo-Pacific.”
“This will include greater air cooperation through rotational deployments of all types of U.S. military aircraft to Australia,” Dutton told a joint news conference in Washington.
The French embassy in Washington confirmed a New York Times report that in protest, it had canceled a gala event on Friday commemorating the “240th Anniversary of the Battle of the Capes,” and France’s top naval officer, who had traveled to Washington for the event celebrating French in America’s war of independence, would return early to Paris.
Ambassador Philippe Etienne told CNN “we were not informed until we saw the first news yesterday morning in Australia and also in the U.S.”
News Source: USA Today
