Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Patrick for his question. I think the best way to respond to Senator Patrick is, in fact, to refer to some of the singular outcomes of the 2020 AUSMIN meeting held recently in Washington between the US Secretary of State, Mr Pompeo, the US Secretary of Defence, Mr Esper, Minister Reynolds and me, because the Indo-Pacific was the principal topic of our discussion. We reached agreement on a large range of issues. Let me start with the deployment of an affordable, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, if one is achieved, and therapeutics to the Indo-Pacific region. That builds on early US support, with Australia and New Zealand, for the distribution of key medical and health supplies to the Pacific at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We agreed our Global Health Security Statement, which will also help us build Indo-Pacific partner capacity in biosecurity, biosafety and biosurveillance to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Importantly, to reduce the risk of future pandemics, we agreed to establish a new working group between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of State to monitor disinformation efforts so as to counter state-sponsored and other malicious disinformation and interference.

In terms of supporting the economic recovery in the region, we focused on the development of high-quality infrastructure investments—particularly through the trilateral infrastructure partnership and other mechanisms, including the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership and also the proposed undersea cable for Palau—with other partners, including, as I've said, Japan. We're looking at ways to mobilise private sector investment in the Indo-Pacific to deliver high-quality infrastructure and natural resource projects. When you meet Adam Boehler, the head of the DFC, the Development Finance Corporation in the United States, you absolutely know how focused the administration is on those high-quality infrastructure projects in the Pacific and South-East Asia. (Time expired)