New York | Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden have agreed to move “lock-step” on issues of climate change and protecting democracy and will lift their economic investment in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s growing influence despite both dismissing concerns about the risk of conflict and a new Cold War.

In what is the strongest commitment by the US to the Indo-Pacific region since World War II, President Biden told the UN General Assembly that an “inflection point” in history had been reached and that the most powerful nation in the world was now turning its focus to Australia’s backyard to ensure peace from growing threats in the region.