Asean announces new strategic pact with Australia
Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) agreed at a summit yesterday to establish a "comprehensive strategic partnership", a sign of Canberra's ambition to play a bigger role in the region. The has become a strategic battleground between the United States and China. While concrete strategic objectives of the partnership were not immediately announced, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised Australia would "back it with substance". After the announcement, Australia said it would invest $154 million in projects in Southeast Asia on health and energy security, counter-terrorism, fighting and transnational crime, plus hundreds of scholarships.
Comments