Bill in US House seeks to strengthen America's ties with Indo-Pacific countries

A bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to bolster America's ties with countries in Indo-Pacific, particularly India, Australia and Japan, recognising the strategic significance of the region where Washington has political, economic and security interests.

Introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro, the "Indian Ocean Region Strategic Review Act" calls for continuing to build the US-India relationship in order to regularise security cooperation through the negotiation of agreements concerning access, communication and navigation.