WASHINGTON, Nov 6 — US President Donald Trump has put forward a long-time Republican Party figure as his pick for ambassador to Australia, the White House said, hoping to fill a key diplomatic post that has been vacant for two years.

The nomination of Arthur B. Culvahouse, a lawyer and counsel to former US President Ronald Reagan, will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Australia is a key US ally in the strategically important Asia Pacific region where China is asserting greater influence, especially in the disputed South China Sea.

Trump in February named then US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris as ambassador to Australia but then picked him for South Korea amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

In 2016, Culvahouse led vetting of Mike Pence as Republican Party nominee for vice president.

In 1989, Reagan awarded Culvahouse the Presidential Citizens’ Medal, the White House said in a statement yesterday. In 1992, then Secretary of Defence Cheney awarded him the Defence Medal for Distinguished Public Service. — Reuters