Sydney, Shawwal 16, 1435, August 12, 2014, SPA -- Australia and the United States concluded a deal Tuesday that will boost the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, after holding talks on security issues ranging from the South China Sea to Iraq, dpa reported. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel met with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister David Johnston in Sydney. They put their signatures to a Force Posture Agreement that allows the US to rotate more marines and Air Force personnel through Australia's Northern Territory and expand its military assets in the country over the next 25 years. It will also boost cooperation on ballistic missile defence systems. Some 1,200 US troops are currently stationed in Darwin on six-month rotations. The US signed a similar agreement with the Philippines recently. The two sides also said they also agreed to expand trilateral cooperation with Japan and discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership proposed trade agreement in the annual talks. --SPA 12:01 LOCAL TIME 09:01 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w