London. November 2. INTERFAX - The implementation of US plans to modernize the infrastructure for receiving American B-52 strategic bombers in Australia will also benefit Canberra, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.
"We are talking about US investments in the infrastructure of the Tyndall Air Force Base, which will make it more efficient for Australia, too," the Associated Press (AP) quotes him as saying.
He did not agree with the suggestion that this step might be unnecessarily provocative. The Minister recalled that the modernization of facilities at this Australian Air Force base will take place according to the plan adopted by Washington and Canberra back in 2017, and the crews of B-52 bombers have been training in Australia since 2005.
AP recalls that earlier it became known about the US plans to transfer six B-52s to the Tyndall base located in the Northern Territory, and the modernization of the base's infrastructure will make the presence of long-range US aviation in the region more tangible.
The Chinese authorities, in turn, condemned this step and warned about the possible outbreak of an arms race in the region. A number of observers in Australia itself also opposed it, arguing that in the event of a possible conflict between the United States and China, the Australian territory would become a more significant target for China.
