AUSTRALIA and Fiji have rejected suggestions their new security and development agreement was designed to shut out China.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the deal was fully funded in his government’s budget and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said Beijing had no reason for “severe pushback.”
Albanese said the $AUD1 billion package would cover a range of measures, including efforts to combat transnational crime and support for education, health and infrastructure.
“This isn’t additional. This is the full suite of measures,” Albanese said.
When asked whether China might view the agreement as an attempt to block it as a security player in the Pacific, Rabuka said he did not expect any major reaction.
“I do not expect China to have any severe pushback from either government, and I believe that they will welcome the understanding that it is within Australia and Fiji,” Rabuka said.
He added that the pact would not threaten either country’s ties with Beijing.
“It does not threaten Fiji’s relationship with China nor Australia’s relationship with China,” he said, adding: “Your enemies are not necessarily my enemies.”
