A US Marine in the NT has tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine.

The 19-year-old man arrived in Darwin on May 9 and tested positive in the past 24 hours.

The patient is asymptomatic and is under the care of NT Health at the NT Centre for National Resilience.

The total number of cases diagnosed in the Northern Territory is 172.

All cases have been related to international or interstate travel, with no cases of community transmission.

Australia will invest $582 million to improve bases and training areas in its Northern Territory that are used by a rotational force of U.S. Marines, the country’s Defence Department announced Wednesday.

The country’s defense minister, Peter Dutton, said the upgrades will ensure that the Australian Defence Force delivers world-class training and engagement with allies and other nations through joint exercises, including with the Marines.

The announcement comes amid deteriorating relations between Australia and its largest trading partner, China.

“These new initiatives should help to make northern Australia an even more attractive location for many types of training and exercising by United States forces,” according to Ross Babbage, a former Australian assistant defense secretary.

THE build up of the US Marine Air-Ground Task Force in Darwin moved into overdrive this week with a squadron of MV-22B Ospreys, a detachment of UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1Z Vipers from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 joining a new tranche of 300 US Marines who touched down in the Top End.

Other heavy fighting equipment involved in the rotation includes an artillery battery from 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment; a detachment from 1st Combat Engineer Battalion; a detachment of RQ-20B Pumas and RQ-21A Blackjacks from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3; and a collection of transportation and engineering assets from Combat Logistics Battalion 7.

More than 1300 US military personnel are now in Darwin as part of the 10th Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (C). This will grow to 2200.

The 22-year-old marine who arrived in the Northern Territory earlier this week is part of the annual training rotation that will see thousands of marines fly into Darwin this year.

[unironically] - more to come.

A BATCH of 200 US Marines is due to arrive in Darwin this week as part of annual military exercise Marine Rotational Force-Darwin.

Defence confirmed the second tranche of US Marines would undertake two weeks of quarantine at RAAF Base Darwin.

The four subsequent batches of US Marines will quarantine at former immigration detention centre Bladin Point, now known as Bladin Village. Defence confirmed only one US Marine in the first tranche of arrivals tested positive for COVID-19.

A total of 2200 US Marines have been deployed to Darwin as part of MRF-D.