MORRISON VISITS PACIFIC NEIGHBOURS
Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Vanuatu and Fiji last week, putting into action the Government’s aim to significantly enhance Australia’s engagement with its Pacific neighbours. This is the first visit of an Australian Prime Minister to Vanuatu since 1990, and the first to Fiji since 2006. Mr Morrison announced a series of measures designed to support Pacific security and prosperity, and strengthen bilateral relations. This included partnering on community policing in Vanuatu, increasing visa opportunities for Pacific workers and greater investment in cultural connections. Australian and Fijian leaders signed a comprehensive economic, security, cultural and sporting agreement, fully restoring all elements of the bilateral relationship which had been frozen since the 2006 coup in Fiji. These announcements align with the Pacific-centred foreign policy agenda Mr Morrison announced in November last year; a shift which has been influenced by the growing Chinese economic and military involvement in the region, and following rumours of a potential Chinese military base in Vanuatu. During the visit, Government backbencher and former Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells criticised Mr Morrison’s plans to offer development loans to the Pacific, arguing it is the equivalent of China’s debt trap diplomacy. The visit came amid public dispute between the Australian and Fijian governments over the citizenship status of Australian-born Islamic extremist Neil Prakash, and ongoing debate over action on climate change.