CANBERRA (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday unveiled plans to deepen the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific, with 2,500 U.S. marines operating out of a de facto base in northern Australia.

U.S. troops and aircraft will operate out of the tropical city of Darwin, only 820 kms (500 miles) from Indonesia, able to respond quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, where disputes over sovereignty of the South China Sea are causing rising tensions.

CANBERRA (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday unveiled plans for a deepening of the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific, starting with thousands of U.S. Marines operating out of a defacto military base in the Australian port of Darwin.

U.S. troops in Darwin, only 820 kms from Indonesia, would be able to react quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, where disputes over sovereignty of the South China Sea are causing rising tensions.

CANBERRA (Reuters) – President Barack Obama landed in Australia on Wednesday where he is expected to announce a deepening of U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific, starting with U.S. Marines rotating in and out of the Australian port of Darwin — a gateway to Asia.

U.S. troops in Darwin, only 820 kms (500 miles) from Indonesia, would be able to react quickly to any humanitarian and security issues in Southeast Asia, eliminating days of sailing from U.S. bases in north Asia or the Pacific.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will unveil plans to deepen America’s military presence in the Asia-Pacific region during a trip this week to Australia, where he hopes to bolster ties with a staunch U.S. ally.

The winding down of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has opened the door to greater U.S. attention to simmering tensions over the South China Sea, a shipping lane for more than $5 trillion in annual trade that the United States wants to keep open.

HONOLULU, Nov 14 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on
Monday year-end wrangling over the budget and jobs measures
might delay the start of his December holiday vacation in
Hawaii, as U.S. political gridlock showed no sign of easing.

“It is great to be home, great to feel that Aloha spirit,”
Obama told a fundraiser in his native state of Hawaii, where he
had spent the weekend hosting world leaders at an Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – President Barack Obama hit back on Sunday at criticism by Republican presidential candidates of his handling of Iran and other international issues, and said a new Congress may be needed to heal the U.S. economy.

In his home state of Hawaii, the Democratic president appeared to relish the chance to defend and tout his foreign policy record at a news conference wrapping up a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders that he hosted.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – President Barack Obama hit back on Sunday at criticism by Republican presidential candidates of his handling of Iran and other international issues, and said a new Congress may be needed to heal the U.S. economy.

In his home state of Hawaii, the Democratic president appeared to relish the chance to defend and tout his foreign policy record at a news conference wrapping up a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders that he hosted.

WASHINGTON/HONOLULU, Nov 13 (Reuters) – President Barack
Obama urged U.S. lawmakers on Sunday to “bite the bullet” and
make the compromises needed for a deficit-reduction deal they
need to reach this month to avoid triggering automatic federal
spending cuts.

At a news conference in Honolulu, where he was hosting a
summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, Obama said it was time for the
bipartisan, 12-member “super committee” to match up prudent
spending curbs with tax increases and get to an agreement.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – Asia-Pacific leaders sought a united front on Sunday to prop up economic growth despite divisions over trade and currency policies as they face a common threat from Europe’s debt crisis.

Fresh from a rare success over agreement on the outlines of a regional trade deal, the 21 nations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit looked to the immediate challenge of safeguarding themselves against the fallout from Europe.

HONOLULU, Nov 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack
Obama sought to ratchet up pressure on China over its currency
and trade policies, warning Chinese President Hu Jintao on
Saturday that Americans were growing “impatient and frustrated”
over economic relations.

Obama, under pressure to create jobs at home and trying to
highlight U.S. influence abroad, adopted a more steely tone with
Hu than he has at other recent meetings with his Chinese
counterpart.