DARWIN, Australia —The past casts a long shadow over this palm-lined city on Asia’s fringe. Allies upgrade facilities and Marines expand operations as China extends its reach. Darwin’s location, 400 miles from the Indonesian archipelago and 1,700 miles from the South China Sea, provides what could serve as a springboard for U.S. forces in the region.

For the U.S., Australia’s benefits go beyond confronting China. The alliance allows the U.S. to disperse forces and offset a lack of permanent bases in the Pacific outside Japan and South Korea, particularly for aircraft.

US marines will soon embed on Australia's largest warship for a tour of Pacific island nations, as anxiety continues to grow among western allies over China's rising influence in the region.

Preparations are almost complete for the Australian Defence Force's Joint Task Group mission, centred on the amphibious Landing Helicopter Dock, HMAS Adelaide.

Defence sources have confirmed several dozen US marines, who are part of a current rotation in Darwin, would also be embedded on HMAS Adelaide ahead of the RIMPAC war games in Hawaii in July.

"There is a connection that could be made between the geopolitical competition that we're starting to see unfold in the Pacific, with China becoming more present as an actor (including military deployments that will become more regular in the future) and Australia doesn't want that gap to be filled by outside actors." ^/s

MORE than 1500 US Marines will begin arriving in the Top End later this month.

Elements of the 2018 Marine Rotational Force–Darwin (MRF-D) are to come to Darwin for the “seventh and largest rotation to date”.

The rotation will include 1,587 US Marines, eight MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and an artillery battery of six M777 Howitzers.

Defence Minister Marise Payne said the increased Marine rotation underscored the commitment of both the Australian and US Governments to the full implementation of the United States Force Posture Initiatives.

The US Marines are expected to complete the rotation of training in Australia in October.

During the six-month training period, the US Marines are expected to participate in 15 training activities alongside the ADF. Other regional nations, including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and many more will also participate in or observe some of these training activities.

A series of investigations into alleged sexual crimes committed by US marines in and around Darwin have been quietly dropped by Australian and American authorities.

That decision raises questions about whether Australia and the US are doing enough to investigate claims of sex crimes, and echoes decades of international concern about the cover-up of those crimes by US military personnel serving abroad.

ADFIS began an investigation into an allegation of inappropriate behaviour that stalled.

"All ADFIS action in this matter has ceased due to jurisdictional issues," the report stated.

... it was possible Australian and US forces were more concerned about the military relationship than they were about properly investigating the allegations: 'ADF are actively attempting to keep it out of the public eye'

The Pentagon is considering plans to send heavily armed, versatile Marine Corps task forces to East Asia, curtailing some deployments in the Middle East as it repositions forces in response to growing Chinese influence.

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In a related step, the Marine Corps next month will expand the number of Marines who serve in rotating training assignments in Darwin, Australia, military officials said. About 1,250 Marines now deploy in Darwin for six months each year; the number will increase by an unspecified amount in March, officials said.

Over the past week, Gen. Dunford visited Australia, which faces its own strategic challenges with China, and toured the training base for U.S. Marines in Darwin. He also visited Thailand, now rebuilding ties to the U.S. after strains that followed a 2014 military coup.