(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the South Australian city of Adelaide on Thursday (November 15) to view a $300 million Australian dollar ($311.4 million US dollars) marine defence hub.<br/> <br />The South Australian state government said it was pitching Techport as a safe haven for the U.S. Navy when sailing between Pearl Harbour and when deployed in the Middle East to undergo naval repairs.<br/> <br />In a speech at the facilities, Clinton said the relationship was mutually beneficial, as U.S. manufacturers help modernise Australia's defences and Australia is in turn helping upgrade U.S. combat ships .<br/> <br />She also said Australia did not have to choose to ally itself between Washington and the region's powerhouse, China, as the U.S. military shifts its focus to the Asia-Pacific region.<br/> <br />"We are co-operating everywhere together. In businesses, in ship building, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the atolls of the Pacific, to the thriving cities of Asia. But I know there are some who present a false choice, that Australia needs to choose between its long standing ties to the United States and its emerging links with China. Well that kind of zero-sum thinking only leads to negative-sum results. We support Australia having strong multi-faceted ties with every nation in the Asia Pacific, indeed in the world, including China, just as we seek the same and I have said repeatedly the Pacific is big enough for all of us," she said.<br/> <br />Clinton is set to leave Adelaide on Friday (November 15) and head to Singapore to meet leaders and deliver a major speech on the U.S. engagement strategy.
