The White House's national security tsar has warned of China's provocative actions in the Pacific as he touted Australia's strong relationship with the United States.
The president's East Asian and Pacific security adviser Kurt Campbell has welcomed an "active, engaged Australia on the global scene" as Washington works to strengthen alliances in the region to counter China's military threat.
"We've seen a number of steps on the part of China that are provocative - a massive military build-up and a number of steps that have caused anxiety," he told a press briefing on Tuesday.
"Australia has probably ascended to the absolute peak as a close partner of the United States."
Dr Campbell said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had worked to balance diplomatic ties with Southeast Asia and nations like India as well as China.
At the same time, Canberra's engagement with the US, Japan and South Korea was deepening.
"We appreciate the support (Australia) expressed for the trilateral summit last week," he said after US President Joe Biden hosted his Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
China's foreign minister attacked the trilateral meeting - which singled out Beijing's aggressive behaviour - for "smearing China’s image and harming China’s interests".
"Stop creating division and confrontation and undermining regional peace and stability," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
It comes as an Indian attack submarine docked in Australia for the first time as New Delhi works to strengthen its influence and presence in the Pacific as Sino-Indian border disputes heighten tensions in the region.
The Kalvari class submarine docked in Perth as Indian naval ships and aircraft participate in training exercises with their Australian counterparts throughout August.
India's defence ministry said the deployment would include basic, intermediate and advanced anti-submarine exercises.
Australian navy chief Vice Admiral Mark Hammond wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the submarine's arrival provided the Australian navy "a valuable opportunity to continue to build on our strong relationship with our Indian Navy partners."
