SYDNEY: Australia, the United States and Japan will jointly invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific, officials announced Tuesday, in an attempt to counter China’s efforts to court influence in the region.
Beijing has loaned countries across Asia billions of dollars as part of its “Belt and Road” development strategy, including to island nations in the Pacific, a region Canberra views as its backyard.
The Australian government has raised fears in recent months that some small Pacific nations might get trapped with unsustainable debts, handing Beijing influence.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the trilateral partnership would “mobilize investment in projects that drive economic growth, create opportunities, and foster a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
“We share the belief that good investments stem from transparency, open competition, sustainability, adhering to robust global standards, employing the local workforce, and avoiding unsustainable debt burdens.”
She said Australia’s foreign affairs department (DFAT), the US’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation were developing a framework of cooperation.
Bishop did not name China in her announcement, but Canberra has been critical of Beijing’s Pacific “soft diplomacy” push and has refocused its aid programs to win hearts and minds in the island nations.
Australia last month said it will negotiate a security treaty with Vanuatu and would also fund and build an underseas communications cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
China’s role in the region is set to be high on the agenda at the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum annual meeting in Nauru in September.
Earlier this month China announced it was planning a first-ever summit between President Xi Jinping and Pacific Island leaders ahead of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Papua New Guinea.
Australia, US, Japan in Indo-Pacific infrastructure push
Australia, US, Japan in Indo-Pacific infrastructure push
US Treasury chief says retaliatory EU tariffs over Greenland ‘unwise’
- He said Trump wanted control of the autonomous Danish territory because he considers it a “strategic asset” and “we are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”
Davos: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned European nations on Monday against retaliatory tariffs over President Donald Trump’s threatened levies to obtain control of Greenland.
“I think it would be very unwise,” Bessent told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
He said Trump wanted control of the autonomous Danish territory because he considers it a “strategic asset” and “we are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”
Asked about Trump’s message to Norway’s prime minister, in which he appeared to link his Greenland push to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Bessent said: “I don’t know anything about the president’s letter to Norway.”
He added, however, that “I think it’s a complete canard that the president will be doing this because of the Nobel Prize.”
Trump said at the weekend that, from February 1, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden would be subject to a 10-percent tariff on all goods sent to the United States until Denmark agrees to cede Greenland.
The announcement has drawn angry charges of “blackmail” from the US allies, and Germany’s vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil said Monday that Europe was preparing countermeasures.
Asked later Monday on the chances for a deal that would not involve acquiring Greenland, Bessent said “I would just take President Trump at his word for now.”
“How did the US get the Panama Canal? We bought it from the French,” he told a small group of journalists including AFP.
“How did the US get the US Virgin Islands? We bought it from the Danes.”
Bessent reiterated in particular the island’s strategic importance as a source of rare earth minerals that are critical for a range of cutting-edge technologies.
Referring to Denmark, he said: “What if one day they were worried about antagonizing the Chinese? They’ve already allowed Chinese mining in Greenland, right?“
