Australia's newly elected prime minister has said Pacific leaders have been "very positive" about his government's renewed engagement, even as Beijing continues its diplomatic blitz across the increasingly contested region.

The comments from Anthony Albanese -- aired Sunday in an interview with Sky News -- came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Fiji for closely watched meetings with the island nation's leaders and other Pacific foreign ministers.

Wang, who began his South Pacific tour Thursday in Solomon Islands, is expected to discuss with his fellow foreign ministers a wide-ranging draft agreement and five-year plan, which was leaked last week.

The leaked drafts, obtained by AFP, were circulated to at least 10 Pacific nations ahead of the Fiji meeting, sparking concern about Beijing's ambitions to dramatically expand security and economic cooperation within the South Pacific.

- Australia 'dropped the ball' -

Albanese was scathing in his assessment of the former Australian government's Pacific plan, saying it had "dropped the ball" in the region -- blaming both foreign aid cuts and "a non-engagement on values".

"For our Pacific Island neighbours, the issue of climate change is an absolute national security issue," he said.

In addition to increased action on the environment, Albanese touted a boost in aid and a plan to set up a defence training school in the Pacific.

During Australia's recent election campaign, Albanese's centre-left Labor party said the school would involve forces from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Albanese said Australia's renewed diplomatic push in the Pacific, which began with a visit to Fiji by new foreign minister Penny Wong, had been well-received.

"The response has been very positive," he said.

Australia and China have been locked in a tense duel for influence in the Pacific, after Beijing last month surprised Canberra by securing a wide-ranging security pact with Solomon Islands.

Foreign Minister Wong urged South Pacific nations to spurn China's attempts to extend its security reach across the region while in Fiji on Friday.

"We have expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement," Wong told reporters in the capital of Suva.

- Climate change key focus -

Chinese foreign minister Wang said China was willing to work with other major powers in the Pacific region to help island nations develop.

"China is willing to carry out more tripartite cooperation with other countries, especially countries with traditional influence in the region" to help island countries accelerate their development, Wang said when he met Sunday with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna.

"It is a trip of peace, friendship and cooperation," Wang said, according to a statement about the meeting by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang is expected to remain in Fiji's capital until at least Tuesday, meeting with the country's leaders and hosting the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' meeting.

Puna said economic recovery from the pandemic and "urgent and ambitious climate change action" were key issues for their discussion.

"We welcome China's climate change commitments," Puna said.

Wang's whistle-stop tour of the Pacific previously took him to Kiribati, where he signed 10 memorandums of understanding covering climate change, economic cooperation and other issues -- although a security agreement was not among them.

He also visited Samoa, where he signed a bilateral agreement on Saturday promising "greater collaboration".

Wang is expected to visit Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to round out his tour.

Hardliner, China hawk elected Australian opposition leader
Sydney (AFP) May 30, 2022 - Australia's conservatives elected hardliner and China hawk Peter Dutton as the country's new opposition leader Monday, an outcome many will see as a lurch to the right for his party.

Dutton came out swinging after accepting the top spot, saying the country's newly elected Labor government was not "ready to govern and we are already seeing their inexperience on display".

Elected unopposed, the former police officer inherits a Liberal party decimated by Australia's May 21 election, when many of its long-time voters swung to independent candidates who promised action on climate change.

The new opposition leader will have to rebuild his shattered party and try to unite its fiercely divided moderate and conservative wings, with climate a key sticking point.

Dutton described himself Monday as "a very passionate believer" in Australia's need for an "appropriate response" to emissions reduction.

During his two decades in politics, the Queenslander has made a name for himself with tough talk and a penchant for headline-grabbing commentary.

On election day, he tweeted out a Border Force statement about the interception of an asylum seeker boat, adding his comment: "Don't risk Australia's national security with Labor."

In previous posts as defence minister, Dutton often likened China's expansionist ambitions to Nazi Germany.

"The only way you can preserve peace is to prepare for war," he said in one.

During Monday's speech, he described China under Xi Jinping as "the biggest issue our country will face in our lifetime".

Dutton served as Australia's immigration minister for nearly four years, overseeing the country's widely criticised offshore detention regime.

He sparked outrage when he claimed some asylum seekers who said they had been raped in Australia's offshore detention centres were "trying it on" by seeking an abortion on the mainland.

He also had to apologise after a quip about the threat climate change poses to the Pacific was picked up by a microphone.

"Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to be, you know, have water lapping at your door," Dutton was caught saying.

Dutton and his allies in the Liberal party have sought to play down his right-wing past since the election, saying Australians will see his softer side.

The new opposition leader said Monday his policies would be "squarely aimed at the forgotten Australians, in the suburbs, across regional Australia".

He also expressed regret about a decision earlier in his political career to boycott a national apology to Aboriginal Australians forcibly separated from their families.

At the time he believed "the apology should be given when the problems were resolved, and the problems are not resolved", Dutton said, citing the welfare issues many Indigenous Australians face.

Ousted Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who stepped down from the Liberal leadership after the election drubbing, offered his "full support" to Dutton on Monday.

Australia's newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week praised Dutton, saying he had a better relationship with him than Morrison.

"Peter Dutton has never broken a confidence that I've had with him," Albanese said.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Vanuatu declares climate emergency
Sydney (AFP) May 28, 2022
Vanuatu's parliament has declared a climate emergency, with the low-lying island nation's prime minister flagging a US$1.2 billion cost to cushion climate change's impacts on his country. Speaking to parliament in Port Vila on Friday, Prime Minister Bob Loughman said rising sea levels and severe weather were already disproportionately affecting the Pacific - highlighting two devastating tropical cyclones and a hard-hitting drought in the last decade. "The Earth is already too hot and unsafe," L ... read more