Australia to spend $1bn as it signs new defence alliance with Fiji

Australia has signed a new defence pact with Fiji, as it seeks to push back against Chinese influence in the Pacific region.

The Ocean of Peace Alliance makes the island nation Australia's fourth formal alliance after the United States, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. It is Fiji's first alliance.

The treaty will be backed by Australian government spending of more than $1bn over a decade on measures against transnational crime, and health and infrastructure in Fiji, said Australian leader Anthony Albanese.

Australia has sought to strengthen its Pacific relationships after China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022, sparking fears Beijing could one day set up a permanent military base there.

Signing the agreement with his Fijian counterpart, Albanese said it was "one of the most significant endeavours" Canberra had undertaken with any country.

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the treaty was a "defining moment" in the ties between the two countries and marked a "very significant elevation of our bilateral relationship".

Asked by reporters whether he expected any pushback from Beijing, Rabuka said he believed China would "welcome the understanding".

"It does not threaten Fiji's relationship with China nor Australia's relationship with China," he said in remarks reported by Australia's national broadcaster ABC.

Last week Albanese also signed Australia's first comprehensive strategic pact with Vanuatu - after months of negotiations - which recognises Australia as Vanuatu's primary policing partner and bars the establishment of any foreign military base on the Pacific island.

Albanese will continue his Pacific trip on Tuesday in the Solomon Islands, where he will meet Prime Minister Matthew Wale to continue negotiations on a new treaty and become the first foreign leader to attend the country's independence day celebrations.

Wale, who was elected in May, is a former China hawk who has for years strongly opposed a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China in 2022. He had on a visit to Australia last month floated the idea of a regional security pact.

Albanese is set to continue his round of Pacific diplomacy when he hosts the leaders of Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The visit by PNG's Prime Minister James Marape marks the coming into force of the PukPuk treaty, signed last October, which gives Canberra access to PNG's military facilities and troops and allow as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve in Australia's military.

Last month, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia and China were locked in a "permanent contest in our region".