U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Australia on Wednesday on a two-day trip where he is set to announce an expanded American military presence in the country.
It is Obama's first visit to the country as commander-in-chief.
Obama arrived aboard Air Force Once in the capital of Canberra from Hawaii.
During his visit, Obama will hold talks with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He will also discuss a range of regional economic and security issues during a speech to Australian legislators in Canberra.
He is expected to make the announcement about the expanded military presence during a stop at a military base in Darwin in northern Australia.
Among other things, U.S. Marines will begin using facilities in Darwin for training and war games, while American warships will increase their utilization of naval facilities in Western Australia near Perth.
"The U.S. presence and the reassurance that that presence provides is important to the continued peaceful development of the region, the continued free flow of commerce, and the continued ability to deal in a forward-leaning way with the types of challenges that emerge in this part of the world," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president.
The U.S. military will be able to respond quickly to natural disasters, like they did after the tsunami in Japan in March. It is also involved in countering piracy in Southeast Asia, Rhodes said.
Asked if an increased U.S. presence is borne in part by a desire to offset China's strong presence in the region, Rhodes said the United States is focused on increasing military cooperation with China to facilitate dialogue.
"At the same time, again, we want to make sure that the United States is positioned to play its critical role as really the anchor of security and stability in the region in general," he said.
The president's Australian visit -- postponed twice in 2009 and 2010 due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other domestic political considerations -- highlights a changing balance of power in the Pacific as China expands its military reach and the United States works to reduce its military footprint in Japan.
"I don't want to get ahead of any agreement," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters last week. "I'll just say that we're discussing with the Australians, again, the future of our alliance in the context ... of our future force posture in the region."
Obama's Australian visit comes on the heels of last weekend's 19-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which highlighted the need for new measures supporting job growth. During the Hawaiian summit, Obama stressed the importance of the Pacific to global economic security, and he pushed China to do more to help strengthen the world economy.
After wrapping up his visit to Australia, Obama will conclude his Pacific trip with a stop in Indonesia -- a country he spent several years living in during his childhood.
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