1,300 US Marines to be Permantly at Guam: Darwin?

Pete Comment

Of interest to Australia. 1,300 US Marines will be permantly based at Guam, much closer to Australia than previously. This is along with a 3,700 Marine force rotating through Guam.

What impact that will have on the up to 2,500 per year Marine Rotational Force [through] Darwin (MRF-D) Australia agreement is unknown (?) and will need to be worked out. This is yet another item on Biden's amd Prime Minister Morrison's very long To Do lists.

ARTICLE

Miguel Ortiz at We Are The Mighty December 4, 2020 reports 
 https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/camp-blaz/ :

"Camp Blaz [Guam] is the first new USMC base in nearly 70 years" 

On October 1, 2020, the United States Marine Corps activated its first new base since 1952. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz will host roughly 5,000 Marines of III Marine Expeditionary Force on the island of Guam. The Marines will relocate from their current station in Okinawa, Japan over the next five years. 1,300 Marines will be permanently stationed at Camp Blaz while the remaining 3,700 Marines will serve as a rotational force.

The new Marine Corps strategy in the Pacific calls for a smaller, more agile and lethal force. “We have to spread out,” said the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger. “We have to factor in Guam.” Camp Blaz will allow the United States to distribute its premiere amphibious fighting force across the Pacific. Operating from Guam, the Marine Corps will be able to respond to a wider array of aggressive actions from China...."