Australia and Vanuatu sign agreement barring Chinese military base

Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sign the Nakamal Agreement at Parliament in Canberra.
Lukas Coch/AAP via AP
Australia and Vanuatu signed on Monday (29) a long-awaited bilateral security and economic treaty that prevents China from installing a military base in the South Pacific island nation.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, signed the so-called Nakamal Agreement with his Vanuatu counterpart, Jotham Napat, in the Australian capital, nine months after the Vanuatu government rejected a draft version of the text. At the time, the archipelago feared that the pact would limit its ability to attract investment in infrastructure.
"Our agreement reflects and confirms Australia's role as Vanuatu's largest and most comprehensive economic, security and development partner, a responsibility we take seriously," Albanese told reporters.
Napat said the pact "reaffirms the shared commitment to continuing and strengthening the strategic partnership between our two countries, based on mutual respect, trust and our common vision for a Pacific peaceful, stable and prosperous."
Now on g1
According to a government statement, under the terms of the agreement, Vanuatu will not allow any foreign military bases or infrastructure on its territory and will keep its critical infrastructure free from militarization, external interference or unauthorized access.
The treaty is one of several that Australia has entered into or is negotiating with regional neighbors to counter the advance of China's security influence in the region.
Vanuatu will consult Australia when considering third-party participation in its infrastructure critical, but there will be no veto power on the part of Canberra, as initially proposed.
Vanuatu has also committed to prioritizing police cooperation with members of the Pacific Islands Forum, a bloc of 18 countries and territories that includes Australia. The agreement, however, does not exclude the Chinese police. China does not maintain a permanent police presence in the archipelago, but Chinese agents frequently visit the nation of 350,000 people.
In addition, Vanuatu agreed to turn first to Australia, New Zealand and France to respond to major natural disasters.
Australia had proposed providing Vanuatu with 500 million Australian dollars ($344 million) over a decade under the original draft. Albanese reported that the cost of the final agreement will be made public by December.
Napat said that a bilateral agreement that Vanuatu is negotiating with China will be released as soon as the pact receives "Beijing's approval". Previously, the prime minister described the so-called Namele Agreement with China as a "comprehensive development cooperation" treaty, ensuring that it is not a security pact.
Vanuatu has received huge loans and humanitarian aid from China for the construction of buildings, ports and other infrastructure works. (Albanese) also gave me authorization to share with them (China) the Nakamal Agreement," said Napat.
In September last year, Albanese was notified that the previous version of the pact had been rejected just hours before he left for Vanuatu for the signing ceremony.

Source: G1