U.S. President Joe Biden has praised the “unsurpassed friendship” between the United States and Australia, as both nations strive for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The president’s video message, posted on the State Department’s Twitter account, marked the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty’s signing in San Francisco on Sept. 1, 1951. “America will never forget the first and only time the collective defense articles of ANZUS treaty, were formally invoked 20 years ago, was September 11th,” Biden said. “Our Australian friends stood with us, that darkest hour, just as our two nations stood shoulder to shoulder, in every major conflict since World War I.” “Through the years, Australians and Americans have built an unsurpassed partnership, and an easy mateship grounded and shared values and shared vision for coming together to prove that democracies can deliver in a world of complex challenges,” he added. Biden’s message was followed by …