U.S. and Australian officials vowed Tuesday to raise the number of Marines rotating through Australia to 2,500 as soon as possible during the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, or AUSMIN, hosted by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, California.

The current size of Marine Rotation Force Darwin is 1,587 U.S. Marines, with an additional eight MV-22 Ospreys and six M777 howitzers. It is currently the largest rotation to Australia for the Corps, which is now in it’s seventh rotation since kicking off deployments in 2012.

The Marine deployments to Darwin are part of the Force Posture Initiatives started under then-President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2011. The first few rotations to Darwin consisted of roughly 200-250 Marines.

The intent of the initiative between the two countries has always been to grow the Marine presence in Australia to 2,500.

The Corps has steadily been increasing its footprint in Australia over the years as the force begins once of the largest mass movements to the Pacific since World War II to counter a rising China. The Corps is also flexing forces to other areas across the Pacific such as Guam in an attempt to spread out its Marines generally clustered on Okinawa, Japan. About 22,000 Marines are stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

A DARWIN-BASED US Marine allegedly disguised himself in a motorbike helmet before dragging a 60-year-old woman from her car and slamming her head into vehicles in the carpark earlier this month.

Court documents allege the woman, who worked at a Brisbane Barracks, was thrown against cars and had her head slammed on vehicles and a steel guard rail while being told “be quiet” as she screamed for help.

Elwood allegedly continued the attack until an Australian Federal Police officer at the Army base heard the woman shouting “no” and “please” and intervened.

The 20-year-old Marine allegedly tried to bite the officer when he tried to help the woman. It took three people to detain the man before he was arrested and granted watchhouse bail earlier this month.

The woman sustained serious injuries, including bruising and cuts.

Marine Rotational Force Darwin spokesman First Lieutenant Jose Uriarte confirmed Elwood remained an “active-duty Marine” despite the charges.

The US Marine Corps is facing a $25 million law suit for failing to discipline a colonel over his lewd conduct in Darwin which included sending inappropriate text messages to a female Australian major and showing pornography to a male navy commander.

The law suit was initiated last week by a woman whose child was sexually abused by Colonel Daniel Hunter Wilson after he was transferred to a new command in the US without being disciplined over his Darwin behaviour.

Australian military officers could be asked to give evidence in support of the legal action relating to Wilson, 56, who last year was sentenced to 5½ years’ jail for sexually abusing the woman’s six-year-old daughter.

Wilson, a 36-year veteran of the marines, was posted to Darwin for six months in the sensitive role as liaison officer for the Marine Rotational Force in early 2016.

But just 10 days into the job he was removed and sent back to the US following complaints about his behaviour from local officers, especially his Australian counterpart.

“Had they (the Marine Corps) handled it properly he would never have been stuck back where he could assault my daughter.’

United States Force Posture Initiative in Australia has commissioned the construction of the first military project to be built in Australia by the US since World War II.

The four-spot helicopter parking apron and supporting facilities will be built at RAAF Base Darwin at a cost of more than A$30 million.

The contract is the first of many expected to be delivered under the United States Force Posture Initiative in Australia, in which Australia and the US will invest more than US$1.5 billion into existing defense infrastructure and facilities in the Northern Territory.

The scope of work includes four additional airfield-rated concrete, paved parking spots with asphalt shoulders; installation of four additional Type III fuel hydrant pits connected to existing fuel lines; and relocation of existing fuel isolation valve pits. Additional work includes the installation of airfield ground lighting, stormwater collection and treatment system, jet-blast deflectors and construction of an asphalt access drive.

The presence of more than 1500 US marines in Darwin should be welcomed and is a "really positive engagement", Defence Minister Marise Payne says.

Senator Payne made the comments after viewing a computer simulation exercise involving Australian and US forces in which bombs explode in Darwin's Cullen Bay and the troops respond during a visit to Robertson Barracks in the Top End.

The simulator can be used for mission rehearsal exercises for any scenario before going to an "operational or live firing environment", Australian Army's Major Max Williams told the minister.

The number of US marines in Darwin has been gradually increasing to 2500 since first being stationed in 2012.

There are 15 different joint training exercises planned over the next six months.

The meeting comes at a time of increased tension between China and both the US and Australia. The US withdrew an invitation to China to attend the Rim of the Pacific naval exercises this year and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis warned Beijing during a speech in Singapore last weekend of consequences over its aggression in the South China Sea.