Australia has signalled a closer engagement with the Pacific as the region's main political umbrella group reviews its security policy.
At a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum's foreign ministers in Fiji, Australia's Julie Bishop outlined the elements of Canberra's revised approach.
"The Pacific is our neighbourhood and Australia's long-term economic and security interests are tied to the region," she said.
Walter Zweifel asked Anna Powles of the Massey Centre for Defence and Security Studies for an assessment of the changes.
Photo: Massey University
Transcript
ANNA POWLES: "What we are seeing here is a sense of reprioritisation of the region. Australia has been accused of disengaging from the region over the past decade or so. The areas that they have indicated themselves are areas that areas that Australia has already more or less engaged in. In terms of economic growth, Bishop has signalled Pacer Plus as central to an invigorated economic partnership, but also labour mobility. And here the foreign minister highlighted the need to look at New Zealand's positive experience with the Pacific seasonal workers programme. In terms of partnership ad security this was significant in terms of Australia's announcement, which we knew about since the Defence White Paper, but Australia announced that it would build a further 19 patrol boats which would be supplied to 12 countries in the Pacific, which is very important in terms of transnational crime and illegal fishing. And Australia also spoke about the need to address transnational crime more broadly. As well during the Solomon Islands prime minister Sogavare's visit to Australia this week they signed a security treaty. In terms of supporting relations between the two countries, the foreign minister Bishop signalled climate change as a key area as well as education and scholarships. From a New Zealand perspective, what was interesting about these announcements for us is the need to get a sense of what New Zealand's priority areas are in the Pacific. And it would be particularly useful for the New Zealand foreign minister Gerry Brownlee to also signal what New Zealand's priority areas for engagement are with the region.
WALTER ZWEIFEL: From the point of view of having people to people links it is however interesting that Australia has backed away from short-wave broadcasting which was such an easy and cheap way to exert soft power. What's your view on giving away this cheap and simple tool?
AP: I think it was incredibly short-sighted and for anyone who works in the Pacific knows, short-wave radio was a fundamental way, a critical way of accessing information. It also opens the door, and it has already opened. China has indicated that it will that vacuum. In terms of a soft power tool, Australia's dropping of short-wave coverage is incredibly short sighted.
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