Former Indonesian leader chides US for lack of transparency
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2014 file photo, then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono speaks during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. Yudhoyono on Friday, April 8, 2016 accused the United States and Australia of lacking transparency over President Barack Obama's decision five years ago to rotate U.S. Marines through the Australian city of Darwin as part of the U.S. pivot to Asia. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) (The Associated Press)
A former Indonesian president has accused the United States and Australia of lacking transparency over President Barack Obama's decision five years ago to rotate U.S. Marines through the Australian city of Darwin as part of the U.S. military pivot to Asia.
Obama announced during a visit to Australia in 2011 that he would send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was Indonesia's president at the time, told a security conference in the Australian capital Canberra on Friday that he first heard about the decision from a journalist days earlier while attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Hawaii.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yudhoyono says the news was "a surprise."