Australia is pursuing an unprecedented expansion of security partnerships with Pacific island nations, funding infrastructure projects, coast guard capacity, and diplomatic relationships that had previously been neglected. The AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership with the US and UK remains the centerpiece of Australian strategic planning, but Canberra is simultaneously developing bilateral arrangements with Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands.
China has made significant inroads in several Pacific nations through infrastructure investment and security agreements, including a 2022 security arrangement with the Solomon Islands that alarmed Australian policymakers. Canberra is now competing directly with Beijing for influence in a region that controls critical sea lanes and has growing strategic importance for the broader Indo-Pacific balance of power.
