Australia and Fiji sign mutual defence pact as Canberra pushes back on Beijing

A new defence pact

Australia and Fiji on Monday signed the Ocean of Peace Alliance, a mutual defence treaty that commits both nations to "act to meet the common danger" if either is attacked. The agreement, signed in Suva by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka, makes Fiji Australia's fourth formal alliance partner after the United States, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. It is Fiji's first such alliance. The treaty is backed by more than $1 billion in Australian spending over a decade, targeting transnational crime, health and infrastructure in Fiji.

The signing of these two agreements represents one of the most significant endeavours Australia has undertaken with any country.

A separate Vuvale Union agreement was also signed, which could expand visa access for Fijians and deepen economic ties. The alliance is open to other Pacific nations to join, with New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga mentioned as potential future participants. After 75 years of having only the US and New Zealand as formal allies, Australia has now added two new treaty alliances in less than 12 months, following a deal with Papua New Guinea last October.

Countering Beijing's reach

The pact is the latest step in Canberra's campaign to limit China's influence in the Pacific, which intensified after Beijing signed a security agreement with Solomon Islands in 2022. That deal raised concerns China could establish a permanent military base in the region. Australia has since pursued a series of bilateral security arrangements, including the Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu last week and the Falepilli Union with Tuvalu.

Fiji had previously grown closer to China under former prime minister Frank Bainimarama. However, since Rabuka took office in 2022, Suva has distanced itself from Beijing. In 2025, Rabuka dismissed suggestions that Fiji might host a permanent Chinese military presence, saying China understood it would not be welcome. On Monday, he told reporters he expected China would "welcome the understanding" and that the alliance did not threaten Fiji's relationship with China.

It does not threaten Fiji's relationship with China nor Australia's relationship with China.

Albanese's Pacific diplomacy tour

The signing in Suva is part of a broader diplomatic push by Albanese this week. On Tuesday he travels to Solomon Islands to meet Prime Minister Matthew Wale, a former China hawk who has opposed the 2022 security pact with Beijing. Albanese will become the first foreign leader to attend the country's independence day celebrations. On Wednesday, he hosts the leaders of Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea in Brisbane, where the PukPuk treaty with PNG, signed last October, comes into force. That treaty gives Canberra access to PNG's military facilities and troops.

Regional implications

The Ocean of Peace Alliance includes consultation provisions requiring both countries to discuss any security-related developments that might threaten sovereignty or stability. The treaty language states that an armed attack on either "would be dangerous to each other's peace and security as well as the security of the Pacific". The agreement locks in Australia as the security partner of choice for Pacific island nations, reinforcing Canberra's strategy of ensuring the Pacific family looks after its own security.