By MARK DODD
ARMY chief Lieutenant General David Morrison has underscored the importance of joint relations with the US military, including its marines, who will play a vital role in assisting the Australian army's historic transformation into an amphibious expeditionary force.
The army had an "exceptionally strong relationship" with its US counterpart and marine forces in the Pacific, General Morrison told a government-backed Australian Strategic Policy Institute dinner.
His comments coincide with a warning by former army chief Peter Leahy in The Australian yesterday that expanded ties with the US risked "increased tension and even conflict" with China.
But General Morrison said the army was embarking on its own campaign of military diplomacy with plans to develop "robust links" with the land forces of all of Australia's Southeast Asian and Pacific partners. "Australia has no greater ally and friend than the United States, and much of the developments that I have spoken about tonight (Wednesday) are being done in concert with that great country's engagement with the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
Read the full story at The Australian