Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has declared Pacific nations will witness a "different" Australia with Labor in power , signalling the fresh approach will come without "strings attached" for nearby island neighbours.
Login or signup to continue reading. It came as Beijing doubled down on efforts to shape the region , with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting Fiji and its neighbours this week in a pitch to cement further security arrangements following the signing of a controversial pact with Solomon Islands last month.
Senator Wong, on her fourth day as minister and less than a week after Labor's election victory on Saturday, visited Fiji to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum to discuss regional cooperation and trade.
The senior minister said the region was facing a "vexing set of circumstances" including challenges brought by climate change, the COVID pandemic and strategic contest, in a reference to China's increasing assertiveness. But following Saturday's election, Australia was ready to become a "true" partner with neighbouring Pacific islands, Senator Wong said on Thursday.
The Labor government's pitch to the Pacific focuses on supporting climate-related infrastructure and energy projects among island nations and a bid to co-host a future UN Conference of the Parties with Pacific island partners. It also includes expanding ABC programming and training opportunities in the region, additional funding for aerial surveillance to assist with intercepting transnational criminal activities and stamping out illegal fishing along with a defence school to provide training opportunities to Pacific nations defence and security force members.
