Australia and Fiji are on the cusp of signing a sweeping security pact as the Albanese government moves to lock in Pacific partners and counter China’s growing influence, but Beijing has pushed back, effectively scuppering a parallel deal with Vanuatu in a major blow to Canberra’s strategy.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Pacific Island Affairs Minister Pat Conroy left for Fiji on Tuesday morning to iron out the final details of the Vuvale Union – a landmark security treaty that would potentially checkmate China’s efforts to make its own defence deal with one of the Pacific’s largest countries.
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