A new security move is quietly taking shape to ensure troops have exactly what they need right when a crisis hits. While a brand-new ground base is opening in the Philippines later this year, an even larger project is rolling out further south. American planners now intend to build a permanent equipment depot in southeastern Australia.
The chosen location is highly strategic. Because it sits so far south, the facility will remain safely out of range from any potential missile strikes from China. Under their current agreements, Australia hosts a growing number of American troops at its own domestic installations. Right now, about 2,000 U.S. Marines are already training in the northeastern city of Darwin. The new storage program will expand that cooperation significantly. Officials plan to keep the initial military stocks in Melbourne before moving them to an official base near Wodonga next year.
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