{"id":39945,"date":"2026-08-20T11:31:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T09:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=39945"},"modified":"2026-08-20T11:48:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T09:48:49","slug":"39945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=39945","title":{"rendered":"Tabling of the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Australia-Fiji Vuvale Union"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .<\/p>\n

An article from the Foreign Ministry of Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

Ministerial statement 11 August 2026<\/p>\n

At a time of great uncertainty, risk and contestation, the Albanese Government recognises that Australia cannot afford to be a passive observer of the profound changes occurring around us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo from Instagram<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

The Ocean of Peace: Vision to Treaty\u00a0<\/a> weighs the benefits and risks of turning the\u00a0Ocean of Peace Declaration, endorsed by Pacific leaders in 2025, into a legally binding agreement. <\/p>\n

The paper proposes negotiating a new regional peace and security treaty as a Protocol to the\u00a0Treaty of Rarotonga.<\/p>\n

Peace is never a given.<\/p>\n

And we are not here to just occupy the space.<\/p>\n

For the past four years, we have been building Australia\u2019s future in our
\nregion.<\/p>\n

A future built through partnerships, not coercion.<\/p>\n

A future built by the countries and peoples of our region.<\/p>\n

And that is why, from the outset, the Albanese Government has listened to our region, engaged with respect and humility, and acted on our shared priorities.<\/p>\n

We are investing in being the partner of choice for our immediate region, including the Pacific.<\/p>\n

We are using all tools of statecraft to invest in Pacific relationships, trust and regionalism.<\/p>\n

Embracing Pacific leadership and backing initiatives that make our region safer, more prosperous and more resilient.<\/p>\n

And we could not have had a better partner in this than Fiji.<\/p>\n

Under Prime Minister Rabuka, Fiji has crafted and tirelessly championed a vision of our Blue Pacific as an \u2018Ocean of Peace\u2019 that the Pacific family has embraced.<\/p>\n

As Prime Minister Rabuka described it:<\/p>\n

\u201ca region in which strategic competition is managed; where stability is the touchstone of regional relationships; and where coercion is eschewed. <\/p>\n

A region where differences are resolved peacefully\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fiji is a leader in our region, and one of only three Pacific island countries with a military.<\/p>\n

Australian and Fijian service men and women have stood shoulder to shoulder in two world wars, in deployments to support our region\u2019s security, and in peacekeeping missions across the world.<\/p>\n

And it is in the shared pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity, that we deepen our partnership.<\/p>\n

I know Prime Minister Albanese was deeply moved to receive Fiji\u2019s highest honour \u2013 the Companion of the Order of Fiji \u2013 on the same day as signing these landmark treaties.<\/p>\n

As the name of our treaty suggests, Australia and Fiji are one family, one Vuvale.<\/p>\n

Australia was honoured to accept Prime Minister Rabuka\u2019s proposal for the Ocean of Peace Alliance.<\/p>\n

An Alliance is the highest act of trust between two nations.<\/p>\n

This is Fiji\u2019s first Alliance and only Australia\u2019s fourth.<\/p>\n

It will build ever deeper levels of interoperability.<\/p>\n

We will, plan, train, exercise and deploy together, strengthening our combined capability, to enhance our respective sovereignty and to ensure our nations\u2019 and our region\u2019s security at a time of fracture and of disruption.<\/p>\n

The Vuvale Union Treaty is equally important.<\/p>\n

It will be a multi-generational endeavour to integrate our economies, our security and our peoples.<\/p>\n

(Article continued in right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question for this article:<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\n

Where in the world are zones of peace?<\/a> <\/center><\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

(Article continued from left column)<\/p>\n

It is backed by more than a billion dollars of investment over a decade, including grants and loans.<\/p>\n

On Security: together, we will elevate our fight against the scourge of transnational crime and illicit drugs.<\/p>\n

With an investment of $181 million, the AFP will work hand in hand with the Fiji Police Force to disrupt criminal networks and strengthen intelligence to interdict drugs before they reach Fijian or Australian shores.<\/p>\n

We will support Australian doctors and nurses to enhance specialist training for Fiji\u2019s health workers, boosting Fiji\u2019s response to fastest-growing HIV outbreak in the world.<\/p>\n

Under our economic pillar, we will finance nation-building infrastructure \u2013 ports, and major climate adaptation projects \u2013 strengthening Fiji\u2019s role as a regional hub.<\/p>\n

And we will back Fiji\u2019s economic diversification agenda, supporting secure digital infrastructure, enhancing critical infrastructure investment screening, and increasing supply chain resilience.<\/p>\n

Our final pillar is our People.<\/p>\n

Australia and Fiji are linked by deep personal connections, including more than 100,000 people in Australia with Fijian heritage.<\/p>\n

Our multifaith, multicultural communities and First Nations peoples share a strong bond.<\/p>\n

For thousands of years, Australia\u2019s First Nations peoples have maintained connections across our region.<\/p>\n

During World War II, Fijian missionaries, skilled farmers, builders and sailors, worked alongside the Yol\u014bu people and elders still recall the esteem with which they were held.<\/p>\n

The theme of this year\u2019s Garma festival was \u2018Bukmak\u2019 \u2013 a local Yol\u014bu word meaning “everyone”.<\/p>\n

The same name was gifted to the Bukmak Forum established through the Vuvale Union.<\/p>\n

The Forum will bring together government, traditional, faith and business leaders as our two nations build a shared future.<\/p>\n

Yol\u014bu elder Djapirri Mununggirritj travelled forty hours from Yirrkala to stand with our Prime Ministers at the Treaty\u2019s signing.<\/p>\n

And a Fijian delegation, including Fiji\u2019s Minister for Women, Sashi Kiran, and traditional leaders, joined this year\u2019s Garma festival.<\/p>\n

This reflects the spirit of shared history, purpose and vision that drive the partnership between Australia and Fiji.<\/p>\n

And the foundations upon which we have now chosen to elevate our bilateral relationship.<\/p>\n

Colleagues, these two treaties tabled in Parliament today will transform our relationship, far beyond what was contemplated when we started this journey together.<\/p>\n

They will form a durable structure for generations of the future.<\/p>\n

I have just returned from Fiji where Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers reaffirmed our Leaders\u2019 call to give practical effect to the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration.<\/p>\n

And these are the first two treaties to answer that call.<\/p>\n

As Prime Minister Rabuka has said, these treaties reaffirm Fiji and Australia as trusted partners working together not only to benefit each other, but as contributors to a more stable, peaceful and resilient Blue Pacific continent.<\/p>\n

We know that in these unprecedented and dangerous times, we are stronger together.<\/p>\n

And everything we do will also be aimed at supporting our Pacific region.<\/p>\n

Investments in Fiji will flow on to the Pacific family, which relies on Fiji as a regional hub for transport, logistics, education and healthcare.<\/p>\n

Mr Deputy President, these two treaties send an unequivocal signal of our commitment to each other and to the Pacific family.<\/p>\n

They will help realise the vision of an Ocean of Peace to make us all more secure, prosperous and resilient.<\/p>\n

I commend the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Vuvale Union treaties to the Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n

Media enquiries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minister’s office: (02) 6277 7500
\nDFAT Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555<\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: Click here for a copy of the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration<\/a>. Note that it commits to cultivating a culture of peace grounded in the Pacific Way. As described here<\/a>, it is supported by Australia, Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, the Republic of Palau, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of Vanuatu]<\/p>\n

– – – – – –<\/p>\n

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY . An article from the Foreign Ministry of Australia Ministerial statement 11 August 2026 At a time of great uncertainty, risk and contestation, the Albanese Government recognises that Australia cannot afford to be a passive observer of the profound changes occurring around us. Photo from Instagram The Ocean of Peace: Vision to … Continue reading Tabling of the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Australia-Fiji Vuvale Union<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,79],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-39945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disarmament","category-east-asia","tag-east-asia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39945"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39954,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39945\/revisions\/39954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}