Strengthening security and regional unity in the Pacific will be on the agenda when the Australian prime minister meets with his Fijian counterpart.
Sitiveni Rabuka will address the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday after he was welcomed to Government House by Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Tuesday afternoon.
Later in the week, Mr Rabuka and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the Wallabies-Fiji Test in Newcastle to watch the two national teams clash for the Vuvale Bowl in a statement of the cultural bonds shared through rugby.
Fiji’s prime minister, whose nation is a key regional ally of Australia, has previously advocated for the concept of the Pacific being the “ocean of peace”.
That includes adopting foundational ethics and principles for “Pacific regionalism” and outlines themes of climate protection in addition to managing increasing strategic competition between China and the US.
Blake Johnson, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Pacific Centre, said Mr Rabuka would likely want to elaborate on the proposal in his televised address.
“It’s trying to unite the Pacific to push back against some of the competition that’s taking place,” he told AAP.
“To really focus on taking care of the oceans and getting a more unified approach to getting partners like the US and Australia and others to commit to supporting climate change adaptation projects.”
Mr Johnson said the concept also pushed for a cohesive approach from within the Pacific in trying to resolve the region’s security challenges.
“That’s something that Australia has been getting better at over the last 12 months,” he said.
“A lot of its different initiatives are trying to support a Pacific-driven security solution that doesn’t involve drawing in all of this additional support from Beijing or from the US.”
Any visit by a Pacific leader to Australia was an opportunity for Canberra to spruik its support for the bilateral relationship, Mr Johnson added.
“The security of Australia depends on the security of our surrounding region,” he said.
“There can sometimes be unrest in Pacific Island countries and if that all spills over, it creates an unstable region around Australia, and that’s not good for our overall security.”
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