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Australia and Japan joined the United States to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region, at a time when China spends billions of dollars on its Initiative belt and road in Asia.
is part of a broader effort by the United States and its allies to reaffirm their influence in the Pacific, fearing that the region will become increasingly sensitive to diplomatic pressure from Beijing. "The United States, Japan and Australia are forming a trilateral partnership to mobilize investment in projects that spur economic growth, create opportunities and foster a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific", he said. said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia in a statement
Investments will include energy, transportation, tourism and technological infrastructure, with governments aiming to attract capital for projects.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday an amount of 113 million US dollars in new technologies, energy and infrastructure in emerging Asia.
Pompeo said that the United States "will never seek dominance in the Indo-Pacific" and that "we will oppose any country that does."
Pompeo asks IMF to reject Pakistan bailout plan According to Stephen Kirchner, director of the trade and investment program at the US Studies Center at the University of Sydney, it is likely that he will make announcements on the financing modalities of the pact during his visit to Asia, which will include Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
"This is designed to provide a mechanism that will allow more private sector financing for the infrastructure projects that the countries of this region need," said Mr. Kirchner
. The Australian Department of Commerce, Steve Ciobo, denied the tripartite initiative, he said.
China: the real reason that Australia is injecting money into the Pacific?
This was a challenge to China, claiming that it only added to various regional programs already underway.
"It is wrong to see these things as either / or the fact is that we can participate and take part in all the initiatives in the region," Ciobo told Sky News television channel
] 
"All this, this wide range of initiatives in the region,"
Ciobo stated that he was not expecting brutal reactions from China
"The fact is that we are constantly demonstrating that Australia is very focused on We are confident that we can help the less developed economies of our region become financially more economically viable", he added.
Without specifically referring to China, Pompeo said Monday that the United States was looking for partners. Australia has recently stepped up its engagement in the Pacific, allocating the bulk of its aid budget, while Japan has also stepped up its diplomacy in the region, recently opening an embbady in Virginia. .
China's role in the region should be high on the agenda of the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum to be held in Nauru in September.
– Summit between President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the Pacific Islands ahead of this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Papua New Guinea
Reuters, Agence France-Presse , Associated Press and Bloomberg
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