US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin visited Australia Friday on the final leg of a Pacific tour designed to reinforce Washington’s standing in the region. The United States has been ramping up efforts to re-engage in the South Pacific, where China has emerged as a rising diplomatic and military power. Blinken’s trip to Brisbane caps a diplomatic blitz in which he has also visited Tonga and New Zealand, while US Secretary of Defense Austin arrived from Papua New Guinea. The US duo sat down with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles ahead of formal talks taking place on Saturday. “It comes at a time of increasing strategic competition,” Albanese said Friday, setting the scene before talks began. “Australia and the United States are working together to promote security, stability and prosperity in the region.” Blinken said that, in his experience, the alliance had “never been stronger”. “In challenging times, it makes such a difference to have close partners and close friends,” he said. While military cooperation is expected to dominate discussions, Blinken also used the trip to signal that issues such as climate change and supply chain security also sit high on the agenda.