THE new prime minister is going to have to face a complex security equation in the Asia-Pacific.
It will be characterised by increasing competition between the US and China.
One decision that might very well be required is whether to offer the American military significantly greater basing facilities at Darwin.
The US forward military deployment in Asia has underwritten Australian security at least since World War II, and arguably longer than that. One of Kevin Rudd's great virtues as a foreign policy prime minister was that he was an unapologetic proponent of US leadership in Asia and of the US military presence in Asia. Almost everyone in Asia wants that US presence, but very few political leaders are willing to champion it publicly. This reticence comes from a number of sources.
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