In a move likely to fuel speculation the US will eventually use
Australia as a military staging post, the Australian Defence Force is
eyeing sites in Queensland and the Northern Territory to complement
existing facilities at Twofold Bay in NSW.
The "joint combined training centre" was put on the agenda last
year and became a key item of discussion at AusMin, the annual
bilateral meeting between US and Australian cabinet ministers and
officials, held recently in Adelaide, where a memorandum of
understanding was signed.
Defence has proposed several infrastructure upgrades for
central Queensland's Shoalwater Bay Training Area -- yet to be approved
by federal cabinet.
Shoalwater Bay would be the focal point for any exercises
conducted through the JCTC, including the next Exercise Talisman-Sabre
expected to involve tens of thousands of troops in 2007.
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