WASHINGTON, The US and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on Countering Foreign State Information Manipulation. In a statement late Monday, US Defense Secretary Antony Blinken said, "We know that around the world, we are in an environment in which misinformation, disinformation is unfortunately a tool of choice for countries that are in adversarial relationships with both of our countries." "Australia is now the 20th country to sign an agreement with us. We have agreements with European partners, African partners, in East Asia, in other places, all of whom have endorsed this framework. And it allows us to work together to identify misinformation and disinformation, and then to take effective steps together to combat it," he said. Meanwhile, Blinken said the two countries also signed the Landsat Next 2030 International Partnership Initiative. "What we have with this initiative is an ability to really leap forward in how we map, in how we monitor the planet's environment and its natural resources. And what this partnership does is it will facilitate targeted resource exploration. It will allow us to focus on our supply chain development for critical minerals," the US official noted. On her part, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, "The US-Australia alliance is - it's more than history or tradition. It is that, but it is a living expression of two countries that are aligned. We're aligned by who we are, what we stand for, and what we want." "Two robust democracies whose peoples' voices and values are heard and protected by the rule of law, and both of us home to ancient cultures and generations of immigrants to countries that share an interest in a world that's open, stable, and prosperous, in which all of us can make our own sovereign choices," she added. Source : Kuwait News Agency