US and Australia set to announce joint infrastructure plan for Pacific Island nations

US President Biden and Australian PM Albanese, meeting in Washington this week, will push regional development, officials say

Upgrades are to include internet connections, submarine cables, even docks to ease travel and trade, as alternatives to China

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden during the Group of 7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00pm, 25 Oct 2023Updated: 12:20am, 26 Oct 2023

The US and Australia plan to lay submarine cables, build wharves and provide other infrastructure for Pacific Island nations as part of joint efforts to offer development “alternatives” to countries in the region, two officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Tuesday.

Details of the plan will be made public during Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s state visit to Washington this week, which the White House said “will underscore … the two nations’ shared commitment to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific”.

The two senior administration officials also hinted at military agreements to be announced, involving both countries and Japan, outside the trilateral security alliance known as Aukus.

That initiative was launched in 2021 by Biden, and his Australian and British counterparts at the time, respectively Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson.

“As we’ve stood up our efforts in the Indo-Pacific we’ve listened closely to the island nations about what their main challenges are,” one official told reporters.

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