00:02Australia and Fiji signed a new bilateral defense alliance on Monday in a second major diplomatic win within a year
00:09for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese against Chinese influence in the South Pacific.
00:15Albanese and his Fijian counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, signed the Ocean of Peace alliance in Fiji's capital, Suva.
00:22They also signed an economic treaty, the Vuvalli Union, under which Australia will invest 606 billion euros in its island
00:31neighbour over a decade.
00:33The Ocean of Peace alliance introduces a mutual defense obligation and there's no higher obligation than to come to each
00:42other's aid at a time of need.
00:46The Fiji-Australia-Vuvalli Union is a comprehensive treaty that sets out ambitious commitments across the breadth of our bilateral
00:58relationship.
00:59A relationship between our people, first and foremost, but a relationship involving education, health, infrastructure.
01:10Australia has been attempting to shore up its role as the security partner of choice in the region since 2022
01:16when China struck a secretive security treaty with the Solomon Islands.
01:21That deal raised fears of a Chinese naval base being built in the South Pacific.
01:26China expressed concern last week when Australia and Vanuatu signed a bilateral security and economic treaty that prevents China creating
01:35a military base in the island nation.
01:37...
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