"The US Air Force has not yet developed its thinking to put to us," the official said. Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear. Credit:US Department of Defence "I'm not playing with words here. I can give you an absolute guarantee that there has simply been no discussion with the Americans formally or informally about bloody B-1s and surveillance air craft. Basing is out of the question. I think this guy was off the reservation." The Australian official said the Pentagon official's claims were not only false but illogical, given the distance between Australia and the South China Sea. "When they've got Guam why would they conduct surveillance from Australia?" the official said.

A US embassy spokesperson later confirmed "the United Sates has no plans to rotate B-1 bombers or surveillance aircraft in Australia". Defence Minister Kevin Andrews. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "During May 13 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, US Assistant Secretary of Defence David Shear misspoke on the subject of deploying US military aircraft to Australia." Mr Shear - who speaks Chinese and Japanese - has served for 32 years in the foreign service, including as the US ambassador to Vietnam. He has worked in the offices of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean affairs and as the special assistant to the under secretary for political affairs. But Mr Abbott said: "I understand that the official misspoke and that the US does not have any plans to base those aircraft in Australia," he said.

The Australian official said Australia would be open to American B-1 bombers conducting training exercises in the Northern Territory, where American B-52 bombes have been using the Tindal RAAF base and the 200,000 hectare Delamere air weapons range near Katherine. The US government has contacted us to advise that the official misspoke But the US Air Force had not put such a proposition to Australia, the source said, blaming a badly-prepared Pentagon brief. A spokesperson for Defence Minister Kevin Andrews stressed that an agreement signed by the former Gillard government for greater co-operation with the US military, which has included the rotation of Marines through Darwin, was "not directed at any one country". Mr Abbott said the US strategic "pivot" to Asia had firm bipartisan support in Australia.

"I see the greater presence of the US in our part of the world as a force for stability," he said. "Australia's alliance with the US is a force for stability. Our alliance is not aimed at anyone. It is an alliance for stability, for peace, for progress, for justice, and it is going to be a cornerstone of the stability of our region for many decades to come." Beijing had responded angrily to the American official's comments, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying it was "extremely concerned" and demanding the US clarify its position, according to Reuters. "Freedom of navigation certainly does not mean that foreign military ships and aircraft can enter another country's territorial waters or airspace at will," the ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing this week, Reuters reported. The US has indicated it is preparing to muscle up to China over Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea, which has included building islands and reefs around the contested Spratly Islands so that it can lay territorial claim to the area.

The island chain is also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Taiwan. It has been widely reported this week that US Defence Secretary Ash Carter has requested options from the Pentagon to send military aircraft and ships to deter Beijing should it try to impede freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Follow us on Twitter