SYDNEY: The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia’s southeast coast beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, tender documents show and officials confirmed to AFP. The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said.

The massive buildup of weapons is part of an Asia-wide regional defence strategy to counter the rise of China.

L’armée américaine prévoit d’implanter sur la côte sud-est de l’Australie, à bonne distance de la Chine, un stock d’équipement militaire prêt à l’utilisation dont des armes, selon…