US to build military base in Australia: Media

Caneberra, Feb 15: The United States is to build a new military satellite communications base in Australia after three years of secret negotiations between the two allies, media reported today.

The new base, which will relay signals and intelligence to US forces in the Middle East and Asia, will be located at Geraldton, 400 km (248 miles) north of the West Australian state capital Perth, the Age newspaper said.

The United States already has bases at Pine Gap, near Alice Spings, which provides early missile launch warning for Asia and the Middle East, and Northwest Cape in Western Australia, which carries underwater signals to US nuclear submarines in Asia and the Pacific.

There is another smaller facility at Geraldton which intercepts telephone signals and communications from Antarctica to Siberia, siphoning intelligence from Asian countries.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson had confirmed negotiations were underway for construction of the base to begin in months, and said other new facilities may follow, the Age said.

Reuters