Australia launched new Pacific defence training hub
DEFENCE and security personnel across the Pacific can now access professional development and career planning through the new online Defence Training Hub – Pacific.
Australia
Australia commits $AUD312 million to Pacific maritime security
AUSTRALIA has pledged $AUD312 million over 10 years to Waqa Moana, a Pacific-designed security initiative aimed at tackling transnational organised crime and strengthening maritime security across the region.
Australia and Fiji deepen defence ties
AUSTRALIA and Fiji have reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Blue Pacific, with sovereignty, Pacific leadership and regional cooperation at the centre of their expanding defence
Australia’s Pacific amnesia
A DECADE ago, foreign correspondent Sean Dorney claimed that Australians are embarrassed to acknowledge their history of colonial
Mobility provisions in recent Australia–Pacific bilateral agreements
IN the wake of the 2026 Pacific leaders' meeting in Palau, it is timely to reflect on their endorsement in 2023 of the Pacific
‘Australia not doing enough’ – Vanuatu
VANUATU has delivered a blunt message to Australia, calling on the major fossil fuel producer to stop expanding fossil fuel production and urgently begin its transition away from fossil fuels as Pacific nations face
Learning the Pacific on its own terms
Australia is surrounded by the Pacific. Yet until now, there has been no place in Australia's senior secondary curriculum dedicated
Australia tables Ocean of Peace Alliance and Vuvale Union treaties with Fiji
AUSTRALIA and Fiji have tabled treaties to deepen military cooperation, integrate their economies and strengthen joint efforts against transnational crime, illicit drugs and regional insecurity, Australian Foreign
PACNEWS THREE 10 AUGUST 2026
In this bulletin: 1. PACIFIC — Australia maintains $5.2b Aid Programme as Pacific takes priority2. PACIFIC — Missile test crosses multiple Pacific EEZs3. TONGA — Two by-elections to be held after Tonga
Australia outstrips China in Pacific aid
AUSTRALIA has overtaken China to become the Pacific’s dominant source of lending and infrastructure investment according to the 2026 Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map.
Australia appoints New High Commissioner to Naoero
AUSTRALIA has appointed career diplomat Lisa White as its next high commissioner to Naoero (Nauru).
Pacific strengthens united climate agenda as COP31 countdown begins
PACIFIC climate ministers have reinforced a united regional agenda ahead of COP31, pledging to strengthen the region's negotiating influence as global geopolitical uncertainty threatens progress on climate
Australia considers joint sea patrols, Forum remains silent on China missile tests
AUSTRALIA has not ruled out increased joint patrols of the South China after what it has described as a "destabilising" missile test in the Pacific.
PTI Australia and DAFF webinar to help Pacific exporters navigate Australian market access
Pacific exporters seeking to expand into the Australian market will have the opportunity to gain practical guidance on
Australia launches five-week hydrographic mission in PNG
AUSTRALIA will deploy its hydrographic survey ship, HMAS Leeuwin, to Papua New Guinea for a five-week mission to improve navigation safety and strengthen maritime cooperation.
Australia, PNG unveil first mutual defence treaty in more than 70 years
AUSTRALIA and Papua New Guinea have formalised a landmark mutual defence treaty, a move the two governments cast as a major upgrade in security ties and a new phase in the relationships between the Pacific neighbours.
Will Australia’s diplomatic streak last?
LAST week , Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vanuatu’s Jotham Napat, signed the Nakamal Agreement in Canberra, a security pact that, among other things, bars foreign military bases from Vanuatu’s
Australia launches new Pacific skills programme as APTC ends
AUSTRALIA will spend $FJD359.8 million on skills development in Fiji and Timor-Leste over 2025-2029, as Canberra moves to deepen its regional training footprint through a new programme focused on jobs, industry needs
Albanese says Fiji deal fully budgeted, not aimed at China
AUSTRALIA and Fiji have rejected suggestions their new security and development agreement was designed to shut out China.
Fiji, Australia redraws the Pacific security map with new defence alliance
FIJI and Australia have deepened their strategic partnership, with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka saying Canberra has committed more than $FJD280 million in new investments since October 2023.
Albanese arrives in Fiji to reinforce Australia’s Pacific pivot
AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Fiji visit on the back of signing the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu signals Canberra’s major shift in diplomacy and defence.
PACNEWS ONE, 06 JULY 2026
In this bulletin: 1. PACIFIC — Australian PM Albanese touches down in Fiji ahead of new Pacific deal2. PACIFIC — PM Wale urges Indonesia to pursue dialogue and reduce tensions in West Papua3. PACIFIC —
Tuvalu and Australia launch WWII ordnance survey in Nanumea Lagoon
TUVALU and Australia have launched Operation RENDER SAFE 2026, a technical reconnaissance mission aimed at identifying unexploded World War II ordnance in Nanumea Lagoon.
