WASHINGTON: While I hear there are still difficult details to be ironed out, the United States and Australia appear close to agreeing to regularly fly strategic bombers and airborne tankers from Darwin and Tindal air base in Australia.

Gen. Lori Robinson, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast this morning that no decisions had been yet about which bombers would operate from Australia. Robinson’s predecessor, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, first mentioned the possibility that bombers would rotate to and from Australia in July 2013.

Gen. Lori Robinson

The talks with Australia have gone on for some time. David Shear, assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May that the U.S. planned to send B-1 bombers to Australia. He clearly jumped the gun a bit as Australian officials were quick to say, not so fast. As with the agreement for US Marines to train and rotate in and out of Darwin, the two sides have yet to work out all the details. I hear Australia is unhappy that the US wants them to pick up a substantial portion of the bill to pay for our troops while they’re there.

“We’re in the process of deciding on timing of when that will happen,” Robinson said this morning. “So final timing hasn’t happened as we are working our way through all of that.”

Currently, B-1s, B-2s and B-52s rotate in and out of Guam for Pacific presence operations. Should the US also be able to maintain bombers, at least for routine issues, that would mark a major increase in US regional flexibility. (Warships benefit even more from being based near their area of operations).

Robinson spent much of her time with reporters this morning answering questions about the conduct of Chinese pilots and whether the United States has flown Freedom of Navigation operations within the 12 nautical mile limit of the fake islands China continues to build in the South China Sea. Robinson said that the US has not flown within the 12-mile-limit of those islands but has flown FON operations in the region.

She said the Chinese pilots have behaved responsibly and safely in the time she has led US air forces in the Pacific. She started work in October last year.