Record Number of US Marines to Train in Australia in Symbolic Challenge to China

Record Number of US Marines to Train in Australia in Symbolic Challenge to China
File photo of a U.S. Marines MV-22 Osprey Aircraft flies over a jet before landing on the deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship off the coast of Sydney, Australia June 29, 2017. Reuters/Jason Reed/File Photo
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SYDNEY—The United States will deploy a record number of Marines to train in Australia, the Australian defence minister said on Friday, as Washington seeks to counter what it describes as Chinese government aggression in the region.

Payne said 1,587 U.S. Marines will spend six months training in Australia’s remote north, an increase of nearly 27 percent on its 2017 rotation for the program known as the Force Posture Initiatives.