Australia is being counted on to use its influence as a close US ally to urge Washington to do more in the Indo-Pacific region and acknowledge it as the "cauldron of the future".

Kurt Campbell, a former US deputy secretary of state, said he believed Anthony Albanese would make an appeal to Donald Trump to continue a "strong partnership" with Australia in the Pacific.

The prime minister is yet to lock in a first face-to-face meeting with the US president as he prepares to travel to New York in coming days for the UN General Assembly.

Mr Albanese will seek to reaffirm support for the AUKUS security partnership with the US and UK, under which Australia has been promised at least three Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s.

Jitters remain over the nuclear-submarine deal as the Penta

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