US, Japan, Australia Announce Plan for Papua New Guinea LNG Project to Counter Chinese Influence

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L) speaks next to Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, in Port Moresby on Nov. 17, 2018. Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Australia, Japan, and the United States have teamed up to finance a liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, as part of a trilateral initiative in the Indo-Pacific region announced in 2018.

The initiative is widely viewed as the United States’ effort to challenge China’s influence in the region through the latter’s foreign policy of “One Belt, One Road.” Adopted in 2013, the strategy seeks to build Beijing’s geopolitical influence through financing infrastructure projects in more than 60 countries.