Record number of U.S. Marines to train in Australia in symbolic challenge to China

[Judi Lynn]

Last edited Fri Mar 23, 2018, 06:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

MARCH 22, 2018 / 8:21 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Colin Packham


SYDNEY (Reuters) - 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 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 programme known as the Force Posture Initiatives.

“The U.S. military plays a vital role in underwriting security and stability across the Indo-Pacific, and the Force Posture Initiatives will be an essential component in preserving stability and security over the coming decades,” Defence Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

The deployment, first introduced in 2011 as part of a U.S. “pivot” to Asia, has emerged as a key indicator of Washington’s commitment to the region under U.S. President Donald Trump and his willingness to counter Chinese influence in a region where tensions have spiked amid disputes over the South China Sea.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-usa-defence/record-number-of-u-s-marines-to-train-in-australia-in-symbolic-challenge-to-china-idUSKBN1GZ08V

[tenderfoot]

1. You linked to an unrelated article

Identical twins and 'carousels' - Russia's fairground election

UST-DJEGUTA, Russia (Reuters) - Ludmila Sklyarevskaya, a Russian hospital administrator, voted on Sunday in an election that gave Vladimir Putin another term as Russia’s president.

Then she went to another polling station and voted again, according to Reuters reporters who witnessed her movements.

Sklyarevskaya, who denied any wrongdoing, was among 17 people who were photographed by Reuters apparently casting ballots at more than one polling station Sunday in the town of Ust-Djeguta, southern Russia.

Many appeared to be state employees, and some showed up in groups and in mini buses bearing the names of state-provided services.

An employee at the hospital where Sklyarevskaya worked confirmed the woman captured in photos at the two polling stations was Sklyarevskaya and identified her as the hospital’s deputy director of health and safety.

Voting twice is a misdemeanour under Russian law, carrying a penalty of a fine. Shown pictures of some of the people who apparently voted twice, including at Ust-Djeguta's polling station no. 217, Leila Koichuyeva, a member of the election commission there, said: "They could be twins." (Graphics on 'Russian vote discrepancies' - tmsnrt.rs/2DJrIca)

[Judi Lynn]

2. So glad you mentioned it.Such an obnoxious mistake on my part.Now it's right.Thanks, tenderfoot.n/t