The Defence Minister Stephen Smith says talks are continuing between the United States and Australia about how to pay for the increasing numbers of US marines visiting the Northern Territory. The first marines arrived in April for a six-month rotation. Mr Smith says Australia and the US have a funding deal for that group but the arrangement has not yet been settled beyond that. "We're scaling that up over a period of five years to 2,500 (marines) and there are a whole range of detailed discussions that are going on about the future," Mr Smith said. A report commissioned by the US Government says there are still questions about the cost, how it will be shared, the use of military facilities and the timeline. It says issues including who pays for training, transport and operational costs are still to be finalised. Source: The Coming Crisis
