SYDNEY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Australia's Northern

Territory government said on Wednesday it has written to Chinese

company Landbridge ( LB ), operator of Darwin Port, about its financial

obligations and will discuss the future of the port with the

federal government.

Landbridge ( LB ) has a 99-year lease on the commercial port in

Australia's northern city, Darwin, which also hosts a rotating

force of 2,000 U.S. Marines and Australian air force and naval

bases that have become key to Australia's defence strategy.

Northern Territory Treasurer Bill Yan said the government

had "written to Landbridge ( LB ) seeking further information about

their financial status, and ability to meet their payment

obligations".

This information would guide the government's next steps on

the operation of the port, he added.

Darwin Port said its parent company was offloading assets in

China to avoid selling the port.

"Darwin Port remains a key asset of the group, noting its

recent performance, continued strong growth prospects as a

gateway to Asia, and its positive contribution and engagement

with the local economy," non-executive director Terry O'Connor

said in a statement.

Yan will discuss the matter with Infrastructure Minister

Catherine King, in the capital, Canberra, on Thursday.

"The Northern Territory is reviewing our rights, and our

future action will be made in the best interests of

Territorians," he said.

The awarding of the port contract to Landbridge ( LB ) in 2015 in a

A$506 million ($390 million) deal came a few years after the

United States posted the first of a rotating group of U.S.

Marines in Darwin, and was criticised by the administration of

then-President Barack Obama.

The size and scope of U.S. military rotations through

northern Australia, and the strategic importance of northern

bases, has been boosted after an Australian defence review last

year said China was undertaking the largest military buildup of

any country since the end of World War Two.