Australia, Vanuatu sign deal barring foreign military base on Pacific island

AFP | Canberra

Australia and Vanuatu signed a sweeping economic and security agreement yesterday that bars the establishment of any foreign military base in the Pacific nation.

Vanuatu is at the centre of strategic rivalry between China and US allies in the South Pacific, and Australia has expressed concern that Beijing is seeking a permanent security presence in the region.

The agreement commits Australia to Aus$500 million (US$345 million) in support for Vanuatu, whose largest external creditor is China, and it stops a foreign military power establishing a base there.

"What this does do is to provide certainty for Australia that there will be no foreign military base," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after signing the deal in Canberra with his Vanuatu counterpart Jotham Napat.

"We have concluded a balanced agreement that will protect our collective and individual security and our sovereignty," he said.

China’s navy has made repeated port calls to Vanuatu.

Beijing also funded the expansion of a wharf in Luganville, once the largest US military base in the South Pacific, fuelling concern in Canberra and Washington that China wanted a navy base.

China and Vanuatu previously said the wharf was for cruise ships.

Beijing warned Australia against playing "geopolitical games" after the deal was signed.

"We hope that the relevant countries will carry out cooperation with Pacific island countries that is truly conducive to the development and stability of the island nations region," foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a news briefing. "They should not target third parties, and should not use this to engage in geopolitical games," he said when asked about the deal.

The "Nakamal Agreement" commits Vanuatu to rejecting the militarisation of infrastructure, Napat said.