Tokyo | The race for control of critical minerals has opened a new battlefront on Australia’s doorstep, with the United States signing an executive order to supercharge its deep-sea mining ambitions just months after China strengthened its foothold in the resource-rich Pacific.

President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order to fast-track US exploration and mining of cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese and rare earths in international waters as well as inside its own economic exclusion zones.