The Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, are located near the Strait of Malacca, a bottleneck for Chinese oil imports. (Australian Navy)

An Australian island in the Indian Ocean is one of several sites slated for multi-billion dollar construction and redevelopment projects funded by the United States to deter China.

The Naval Facilities Engineering Command is seeking bids for at least three projects totaling up to $15 billion in Australia’s Cocos Islands, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea, according to the June 26 solicitation.

The projects, which include new facilities, repairs, renovations and infrastructure, would be funded under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, the statement said.

Launched by Congress in fiscal year 2021, the initiative aims to maintain America’s military edge over China by modernizing and strengthening the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific.

The Cocos Islands, with a population of 600, are located 1,864 miles west of Perth.

The projects described in the Navy’s request for proposals “may or may not support the Darwin Marines’ rotational force,” a spokesman for NAVFAC Pacific, the engineering arm of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, told Reuters by email on Monday for a report.

NAVFAC Pacific did not immediately respond to an emailed request from Stars and Stripes for further information on Wednesday.

Two thousand Marines arrived in the northern Australian port city in March for an annual, six-month training mission.

According to information on the Australian Defence Force website, Australia is already in the process of modernising its facilities on the Cocos Islands, which consist of two coral atolls, each with 27 smaller islands.

“Due to the insufficient length and strength of the existing airfield surface, large military aircraft cannot operate from the CKI,” says the Cocos-Keeling Islands Airfield website.

According to the website, an Australian project will see road surfaces improved, lighting and drainage optimized, and a new quay built by mid-2027.

The construction of Cocos and other US-funded base upgrades in Australia were on the agenda when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with their Australian counterparts, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Secretary Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday.

According to former Australian Deputy Minister of Defense Ross Babbage, improvements to the island’s facilities will enable the deployment of P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft and aerial refueling aircraft.

“In the past, there has been American interest in this and also in the use of UAVs,” he told Stars and Stripes by email on Wednesday.

Drone operations are a “more realistic possibility” with the Australian Air Force’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat multi-role aircraft expected to enter service within two years, Babbage said.

The Cocos Islands are closer to the Strait of Malacca, a bottleneck for Chinese oil imports, than Diego Garcia, a major US logistics hub in the Indian Ocean and a launching point for bombing raids during the Afghanistan war.

Cocos Atoll itself offers good weather protection but minimal support for ships in case of extreme conditions, Babbage wrote.

“On Cocos, facilities and available manpower are minimal and due to the terrain constraints and the remoteness of the atoll, it would be difficult and very expensive to establish and support large-scale operations of most types from this location,” he said.