Australia has welcomed the 14th rotation of the United States Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) to the Northern Territory, marking another milestone in the long-standing defence partnership between the two nations.

Approximately 2,500 US Marines and sailors will take part in combined training operations with the ADF and regional partners throughout this rotation. The program will see participation in major exercises across Australia and the Indo-Pacific, including Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.

Talisman Sabre, Australia’s largest military exercise since World War II, will involve participation from 19 nations.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has hosted his US and Japanese counterparts in Darwin for trilateral discussions on increased military cooperation.

Japanese troops will begin regular deployments in northern Australia as part of military cooperation between the three countries, Mr Marles announced on Sunday.

"Today we are announcing that there will be regular deployments of Japan's amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade to Australia," Mr Marles said at a televised press conference in Darwin.

The Darwin jury declared in a unanimous verdict that Mr Long was not guilty to the single charge of having sexual intercourse without consent.

Over the three-day hearing, the jury heard the then 24-year-old had sex with a woman following a boozy pub crawl in Mitchell St in late 2023.

The jury heard the next day the hungover woman initially rejected his sexual advances as she was feeling sick.

However five minutes later, Mr Long again initiated foreplay and they then had sex.

Mr Long rejected the accusation that he was reckless, stating: “It was definitely consensual”.

“Her body language was showing it time and time again,” he said.

Defence Barrister Peter Maley accused the woman of “retrospectively withdrawing consent” saying she had “gone into victim mode”.

Mr Lander said he held deep reservations about the US military presence in Australia, with the former deputy ambassador maintaining the Top End was being weaponised by Washington DC in favour of American interests.

“The US is not preparing to go to war against China, it is preparing Australia to go to war against China,” he told a conference in Perth last week.

“It is preparing a number of countries in our region to be its proxies in such a war, as it has done using Ukraine in [the] war against Russia.”

“The likes of Sydney and Melbourne are a very long way away from Darwin, so people can often be psychologically removed from the problem. There is no physical presence of US military for most people in Australia, so they can remain complacent in grasping the reality of what is happening in our country.”

US bombers were given air access in the Top End as part of their mission to target Houthi forces in Yemen, the Department of Defence has confirmed.

It remains unclear what damage or how many casualties were inflicted.

However, it was revealed the Australian Government had a role in the mission, with the Department of Defence confirming contribution.

“Australia provided support for US strikes conducted on 17 October 2024 targeting Houthi facilities in Yemen, through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia,” a Defence spokesperson said.

Defence maintains the bombers did not operate from any Royal Australian Air Force base, contrary to speculation online which reported RAAF Base Tindal, in Katherine, to have launched the airframes.