US to expand presence in Pacific: Biden
US Vice President Joe Biden has asserted that as a “Pacific power,” Washington plans to stay in the Pacific Ocean to ensure peace and security there.
Biden, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, made the remarks on Tuesday, while addressing a number of American troops on the flight deck of the Australian warship HMAS Adelaide.
"Thank you for having America's back and we will always have your back," Biden told the troops. "We are a Pacific power, we are here to stay, and thank God we have you to lead us and to be with us."
The American VP also met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who later said Australia has no stronger alliance than that with the US.
The two top officials discussed conflicts in the Middle East and agreed on expanding Canberra’s military mission in Iraq to include training for the Arab country’s police force in the fight against the Daesh (ISIL) Takfiri group.
"One of the most important objectives now in Iraq is to ensure that the Iraqi police forces ... are able to maintain the peace in areas that have been liberated from Daesh, or ISIL, as the Iraqi security forces and counterterrorism forces progress," Turnbull said.
Biden then discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement with Turnbull which is struggling to gain support in the US Congress.
Biden told a group of Australian business people yesterday that the deal faces barriers in both countries.
“It’s going to be hard to pass in both our countries, maybe not as hard for you, we’re going to try do a lame duck session in the US congress,” he noted.
However, on Tuesday Turnbull hoped that the "Biden touch" would help get the pact passed in Congress.
Later in the day, Biden met Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop while taking a sunset cruise along the Sydney Opera House.
Following the visit, Chinese officials warned their Australian counterparts about joining the US military in patrolling the South China Sea, amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the disputed waters.
China has long claimed sovereignty over the sea but the US and a number of countries that border the sea challenge China’s presence there.
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