Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy says China is seeking a permanent security presence in the Pacific, as Australia continues efforts to strengthen its position as the region’s preferred security, development and economic partner.
Speaking in an interview in Canberra, Conroy said the Australian Government has been open about its strategic competition with China and its concerns about Beijing’s objectives in the region.
“Both Penny Wong and I have been very clear that we are in a permanent state of contest.”
“We’ve also been very overt about what is the goal of the countries in the region, one being China. And China is seeking a permanent security presence in the region,” he said.
Conroy said China had been pursuing that objective through several avenues.
“They have been doing that through a number of means; the most prominent one is policing cooperation in the region.”
He said Australia supports the view that Pacific security issues should be addressed by Pacific countries.
“We think that security should be provided for the Pacific from the Pacific, and that’s not just a view of the Australian Government; it’s the view of the Pacific Islands Forum and the collective wisdom of the Pacific leaders through the 2022 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders communique, saying if there’s a gap in any Pacific country’s security they should look to the Pacific first to fill that.”
“And as a proud member of the Pacific family, that’s what we’re going to do,” he emphasised.
Conroy said Australia wants to be the Pacific’s preferred partner across several sectors.
“We are very clear that we want to be the security partner of choice for the entire Pacific, as well as the development partner of choice, the economic partner of choice,” he said.
Conroy stressed that Pacific nations remain sovereign and are free to maintain relationships with other countries.
“This is not to dispute and say that Pacific countries who are all sovereign can’t have relationships with other countries, but we do want to be the partner of choice,” he said.
Conroy highlighted a series of agreements and initiatives Australia has pursued across the region.
“That’s why we’ve led groundbreaking agreements, whether it’s the Falepili Union with Tuvalu, the Nauru-Australia Treaty, the PNG Rugby League deal which led on to obviously the Pukpuk alliance, we’re close to finalising the Vuvale treaty with Fiji.”
“We’re still negotiating the Nakamal treaty with Vanuatu. We’ve signalled the intention to open negotiations with Tonga and the Solomon Islands,” he explained.
He said Australia’s interests are closely tied to the stability and prosperity of the Pacific.
“We want to be the best partner for the Pacific, not just in security but in human development.”
“The closest Pacific island to us is 4 kilometres away – you could swim there if you weren’t worried about crocodiles – and you should be worried about crocodiles.
“So, our peace, prosperity and stability depends on a prosperous and stable Pacific, and we’re going to do that through investment in health, investment in security, investment in culture and people-to-people connections,” said Conroy.
Asked about relations with the new government in the Solomon Islands led by Prime Minister Matthew Wale, Conroy said discussions were at an early stage.
“Well, it’s early days, and as a matter of course, I generally negotiate with other governments face to face rather than through the media,” he said.
Conroy said both governments had agreed to work towards a broader partnership.
“We’ve been very clear and both leaders agreed to start working towards a comprehensive and strategic partnership,” he said.
Conroy said Australia’s approach is guided by the priorities identified by Pacific governments.
“It will be focused on their priorities, and I think that’s the key message.”
“This government turns up, we listen and we act on the priorities of our Pacific partners,” he said.
Conroy cited Australia’s engagement across the region as evidence of that approach.
“That’s why I’ve made 37 visits to the Pacific, including 11 trips to PNG, in the last four years. That’s why Penny Wong’s been to every PIF country. That’s why Prime Minister Albanese walked the Kokoda Track with Prime Minister Marape for three days, sleeping in tents next to each other.”
“We turn up, we listen to their priorities,” Conroy stressed.
Conroy said different Pacific countries have different priorities and Australia aims to tailor its partnerships accordingly.
“In Tuvalu it was about addressing climate change, investing in adaptation, providing migration with dignity through the granting permanent residency to every single permanent resident of Tuvalu, which is an incredible world’s first.”
“For Nauru it was economic resilience and providing banking services. PNG, there’s a whole range of things.”
“So, each country will have different priorities, and it’s our job to act on those priorities and negotiate an arrangement that benefits both countries, and that’s what we’re going to do,” said Conroy.
