MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE
The agreement, viewed by AFP, states that “to reinforce Pacific collective security and sovereignty, Vanuatu shall not permit its territory to be used for any foreign military base or infrastructure”.
It also recognises Australia as “Vanuatu’s longstanding primary policing partner”, and says Vanuatu will prioritise policing requests to other members of the Pacific Islands Forum regional bloc.
China formed policing ties with Vanuatu in 2023, and has donated equipment including drones, patrol boats and vehicles to its police force.
The agreement says Australia and Vanuatu will elevate assistance in “police training and equipment, policing, maritime security, cyber security, intelligence cooperation, and infrastructure”.
The Vanuatu treaty is the latest in a string of agreements Australia has struck with Pacific island nations, seeking to curb China’s expanding security influence.
Chinese police have maintained a presence in Solomon Islands since signing a secret security pact in 2022.
Vanuatu has said it is separately negotiating an economic agreement with China, which has built roads and government buildings in the South Pacific nation over a decade.
A former Australian diplomat in the Pacific, James Batley, said the contest between Beijing and Canberra for influence would continue.
“Vanuatu’s long tradition of non-alignment means that it won’t simply abandon its relationship with China. Nor will China abandon its attempts to undermine Australia’s interests in Vanuatu,” he told AFP.