Australia, Japan join US push to invest in Indo-Pacific region’s infrastructure

Australia and Japan have joined the US in a push to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region as China is spending billions of dollars on its Belt and Road initiative across Asia, Reuters reports. The move is part of a broader effort by Washington and its allies to reassert their influence in the Pacific. The US, Japan and Australia have formed “a trilateral partnership to mobilize investment in projects that drive economic growth, create opportunities, and foster a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” said Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the US Overseas Private Investment Corp and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation. The investments will include energy, transportation, tourism and technology infrastructure, with the governments aiming to attract private capital to projects.