New York, Sep 21 (AP) President Joe Biden is meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, several days after unveiling a new partnership that would enable Australia to acquire at least 8 U.S. nuclear submarines led to a diplomatic blowup with France.

The new deal that also included the United Kingdom led Australia to cancel previous submarine acquisitions from France, which then recalled its U.S. ambassador. The deal has widely been seen as an effort by the U.S., Britain and Australia to counter an increasingly assertive China.

Also Read | SAARC Foreign Ministers Meet 'Cancelled' Due to Lack of 'Concurrence From All Member States'.

The pair are meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Morrison did not address the submarines issue directly, but thanked Biden for his leadership in the region. Biden says their goal is a “free and open” Pacific region and emphasizes that the U.S. has “no closer or more reliable ally” than Australia.

Also Read | Amazon, Chobani, UPS and 30 More Other Companies Vow to Hire Afghanistan Refugees in US.

Biden says that their conversation will continue Friday in a meeting with Japan and India, the other two members of a separate partnership known as the quad. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)