A remote Australian island close to an Indian Ocean chokepoint for Chinese oil shipments is on a list of possible locations for U.S. military construction aimed at deterring China, with the U.S. saying it “may or may not” support American forces.
Australia’s Cocos Islands are listed along with the Philippines, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea for anticipated construction projects under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, designed to enhance U.S. force posture and infrastructure to counter China.
The Cocos Islands, with a population of 600, sit 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) west of the Australian mainland and are described by the Australian Defense Force as key to its maritime surveillance operations in the Indian Ocean, where China is increasing submarine activity.
A U.S. Navy construction tender published in June for various base infrastructure in the Indo Pacific lists the Cocos Islands as a possible project location, an indication the U.S. military is also seeking access to the Indian Ocean territory.
“These projects may or may not support the Darwin Marines Rotational Force,” a spokesman for NAVFAC Pacific, the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet engineering arm, said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Around 2,000 U.S. Marines are hosted in the northern Australian city of Darwin for six months of the year.
There was no immediate response from the Chinese foreign ministry when asked for comment on the U.S. Navy tender list and the Cocos Islands as a possible project.
The Cocos Islands are closer to the Strait of Malacca, a chokepoint for half of China’s oil shipments, than the U.S. Navy base of Diego Garcia, a launch pad for U.S. bombers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, but whose long term future is under a cloud.
Darshana Baruah, director of security and geopolitics for the Australia India Institute, told a U.S. Congressional hearing last year that Cocos Islands would be “critical geography” for the U.S. to put pressure on China to deter an attack on Taiwan.
“Cocos is much closer to the theater where Washington anticipates conflict scenarios,” she told Reuters.
“The strategic location of Cocos Islands, close to both the Strait of Malacca as well as Australia’s northern approaches, gives it immense geostrategic advantages,” she added.
Australia has said it will start construction on an expanded airfield on the island this year, to carry heavier military aircraft, including the submarine-hunting P-8A Poseidon.
“There is currently no U.S. investment at Cocos [Keeling] Island,” an Australian Defense Force spokesman said in a statement.
“Australia and the U.S. cooperate closely together to advance our force posture cooperation across various locations in Australia,” the statement added.
The U.S. military is constructing bomber runways and facilities at two key northern Australian air bases.
The U.S. has said its Diego Garcia air base plays a vital role for regional security, and it was a matter for Britain and Mauritius to work out its future after the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2019 that it should be returned to Mauritius.
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