Please agree to our privacy policy to enable news listening. (Central News Agency reporter Qiu Dezhen, Sydney, 26th) The Australian reported yesterday that Vanuatu Prime Minister Napat will sign a bilateral security cooperation treaty called the “Naqama Agreement” with Australian Prime Minister Albanese during his visit to Australia next week. The issue of Canberra’s counterattack against Beijing’s involvement in Pacific security affairs has once again become the focus of Australian public opinion. Jotham Napat will arrive in Canberra, the Australian capital, on the 28th, and will go to the Australian Parliament Buildings on the 29th to attend the signing ceremony and hold bilateral talks with Anthony Albanese. China continues to expand its influence in Pacific island countries. Some Australian diplomats described Australia and China as being locked in a “diplomatic knife fight” in Pacific island countries. After the news broke that Australia and Ten thousand were about to sign the “Naqama Agreement”, the struggle between Canberra and the Beijing authorities in the Pacific region immediately became the focus. The process of reaching a security cooperation agreement between Australia and Vanuatu involved many twists and turns and a negotiation process that lasted several years. The incident occurred due to the change of political parties after the Australian election in 2022, and the Labor government came to power. The then-new Foreign Minister Penny Wong immediately launched a series of visits to Pacific island countries to counter China’s involvement in Pacific affairs and consolidate Australia’s influence in the region. In December 2022, Australia and Wong signed a “bilateral security agreement.” However, the “bilateral security agreement” between Australia and Vanuatu has never been recognized by the Vanuatu Congress; in other words, the agreement signed by both parties turned out to be useless paper. Subsequently, Australia and Vanuatu promoted the “Nakama Agreement”; however, in September 2025, the Vanuatu government used the reason that the “Nakama Agreement” might damage national sovereignty, and the relevant negotiation process and signing time were postponed. After many twists and turns, the Vanuatu Cabinet agreed to reach a new version of the “Nakama Agreement” with Australia in May this year. What has attracted the attention of international media is that the new version of the agreement does not include provisions restricting Chinese investment in Vanuatu’s critical infrastructure and other sensitive areas. In other words, although the new version of the agreement consolidates Australia’s position as Vanuatu’s main security partner, it does not prevent Vanuatu from cooperating with China. James Batley, the former Australian High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands, reminded that it is still unclear whether the “Naqama Agreement” is purely a “symbolic” treaty; and it is also uncertain whether Vanuatu will quickly launch further security cooperation with China. He asked “The Australian” (The Australian): “Will they (Vanatu) sign an agreement with China in a few days, thereby weakening the role of this agreement (Nakama Agreement)?” The Australian also mentioned that Australia recently announced that in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, Australia’s Pacific Island Countries cooperation visa quota will not include Vanuatu; in other words, Australia will suspend the issuance of relevant Australian permanent residence visas to Vanuatu citizens through the Pacific Island Countries Cooperation Mechanism. “The Australian” stated that the Australian government’s move was tantamount to a warning to the Vanuatu government. Glen Craig, an adviser to the Vanuatu government, told New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ in mid-June that he believed the Australian government was using Pacific island countries’ cooperation visa quotas to put pressure on the Vanuatu government on the “Nakama Agreement” issue. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150626 Support the Central News Agency’s choice to stand with the facts. Every donation you make is a small amount of support to protect press freedom. Download the Central News Agency’s “First-hand News” APP to get the latest news in real time. The text, pictures and audio and video of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
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In a diplomatic sword war with China, Australia’s Vanuatu will sign a security treaty | International | Central News Agency CNA
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