"With the number of personnel totaling 2,500, I am convinced the presence of the US base in Australia is not something that deserve to be worried about," said Dewi.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian people do not need to worry about the presence of the United States military base in Darwin, Australia, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, political analyst of the Habibie Center, said.
"There is no need to worry about the US military base in Darwin because its presence there is not intended as an arms race with China," Dewi said here on Monday.
Dewi said that the United States built a military base in Darwin because Australia had been its ally since a long time ago. After all, technically it is not easy for the US to take its military equipment to Australia. Thus, the US prefers to build a military base there.
"With the number of personnel totaling 2,500, I am convinced the presence of the US base in Australia is not something that deserve to be worried about," said Dewi.
She said that some of the people had doubts about the US base. Moreover, the US-China relations happened to become tense sometime ago.
"It`s undeniable that China is now building its military strength and budget. Yet, if compared with that of the US, the Chinese budget is relatively small, and it is difficult for China to catch up with it," she said.
The United States President Barack Obama, during his visit to Indonesia in November last year, said that the United States would build a military based in Darwin and station about 2,500 personnel there.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
