WELLINGTON: Australia and Fiji pledged closer defence and economic ties Thursday as prime ministers Scott Morrison and Voreqe Bainimarama held landmark talks against the backdrop of an increased China presence in the South Pacific.
In the historic first bilateral visit by an Australian leader to Fiji, Morrison said they had taken their relationship to “a landmark” level.
“We share a very strong commitment to understanding that unless our countries have strong economies then we cannot achieve what we want to achieve for our people,“ he said.
Morrison pledged border security assistance to “help reinforce the integrity of Fiji’s borders”.
His Fiji counterpart Bainimarama spoke of “security and defence cooperation including peacekeeping, order and maritime security”.
The leaders signed what they called a “vuvale” or “family” partnership to emphasise a new era of cooperation, far removed from when Australia was one of Fiji’s staunchest critics after Bainimarama seized power in a 2006 coup.
The political climate has changed considerably since, with Morrison now on a quick swing through Vanuatu and Fiji amid mounting concern in Canberra about China’s influence on South Pacific island nations.
Morrison announced in November plans for a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure fund for projects in the region.
This drew strident criticism from a former Australian minister for the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, in a newspaper opinion piece Wednesday headlined “Why are we contemplating saddling the Pacific with more debt?”
She described it as “disingenuous” for Australia to criticise China for “debt-trap diplomacy” when it too might be “equally guilty of burdening the Pacific with more debt”.
Morrison rejected the criticism, saying Canberra would work with Pacific nations on projects that can support the type of financing Australia was offering.
Morrison has denied his trip is a counter-China measure and described his arrival in Suva as a means to “elevate our bilateral relationship to a Fiji-Australia ‘vuvale’ partnership” which he saw as a “centrepiece partnership” in the Pacific.
Canberra was recently embroiled in an embarrassing dispute with Suva over its decision to unilaterally cancel the Australian citizenship of suspected Islamic State group operative Neil Prakash on the grounds that he also held Fijian nationality through his father.
Morrison said the contentious issue had been previously dealt with and was not raised between the leaders Thursday.
Fiji director of immigration Nemani Vuniwaqa described it as “a non-issue”.
“We would be dealing with it if he was a Fiji citizen. Full Stop. If he is not a Fijian citizen then it is a non-issue,“ he told Sky News.
Authorities in Fiji have told local media that Prakash was not in fact a Fijian as Australian authorities believed, prompting questions about the legality of the Australian government’s move. — AFP
