Day: November 10, 2023

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday signed a bilateral agreement with Tuvalu, aimed at countering China’s influence in the Pacific and protecting the tiny island nation from climate change.

The agreement, which Albanese said made Australia Tuvalu’s “partner of choice,” covers climate change, security and human mobility.

“The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili union will be regarded as a significant day in which Australia acknowledged that we are part of the Pacific family,” Albanese told a news conference in the Cook Islands, where he is attending a meeting of Pacific leaders.

Australia will create a special visa for up to 280 Tuvaluans annually, 2.5% of the 11,200 population. Funds will also be provided for land reclamation in Tuvalu to expand land in the capital, Funafuti, by around 6%.

In a nod to China’s growing presence in the region, the agreement also requires the parties to consult before signing security or defense agreements with third parties.

Tuvalu is one of just 13 nations to maintain an official diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, as Beijing has made increasing inroads into the Pacific.

Australia will also provide security support if requested by Tuvalu, Albanese said.

While the full text of the agreement has not been released, the Sydney Morning Herald reported earlier on Friday that all 11,200 residents of Tuvalu would be offered refuge in Australia if climate change made the country uninhabitable.

The government press release following the treaty signing made no mention of mass climate asylum.

Tuvalu, a collection of nine low-lying islands midway between Australia and Hawaii, is one of the world’s most at-risk countries from climate change and has long drawn international attention to the issue.

Earlier this year, Tuvalu appeared at legal hearings at an international court in Germany, seeking an advisory opinion on the obligations of countries to combat climate change.

Former Tuvalu foreign minister Simon Kofe told the COP27 climate summit last year Tuvalu plans to build a digital version of itself, replicating islands and landmarks and preserving its history and culture.

The Philippines on Friday condemned China’s coast guard for “unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers,” including its use of a water cannon against one of its boats, in an attempt to disrupt a resupply mission in the South China Sea.

China’s actions, the Philippines said, have not only “put the lives of our people at risk,” but have “put into question and significant doubt the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue.”

The regular resupply missions support the Philippines’ troops stationed in an intentionally grounded dilapidated warship on Second Thomas Shoal, a hotly disputed atoll in the South China Sea that Manila calls Ayungin and is known as Renai Reef in China.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes the Second Thomas Shoal, and has deployed hundreds of vessels to patrol there, including what Manila refers to as “Chinese maritime militia,” which it said were involved in the latest attempt to obstruct the resupply mission.

China’s coast guard on Friday said two small Philippine transport ships and three coast guard ships entered the waters without the permission of the Chinese government and urged the Philippines to stop infringing on Beijing’s sovereignty.

“The China coast guard has followed Philippine vessels in accordance with the law, taken control measures, and made temporary special arrangements for the Philippine side to transport food and other necessary daily necessities,” Beijing’s coast guard said in a statement.

The Philippines’ government said the resupply mission was completed, even as its boats were “subjected to extremely reckless and dangerous harassment at close proximity” by the Chinese coast guard’s inflatable boats inside the shoal.

For years, Manila and Beijing have been embroiled in on-off confrontations at the Second Thomas Shoal as China has become more assertive in pressing its maritime claims, alarming rival claimants and other states operating in the South China Sea, including the United States.

Washington has thrown its support behind a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that said Beijing’s expansive claims had no legal basis, delivering a historic legal victory for the Philippines. Under the ruling, the shoal is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“The Philippines has acted responsibly, consistent with a rules-based international law, on the basis of UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the task force said. “Peace and stability cannot be achieved without due regard for the legitimate, well-established, and legally settled rights of others.”

China’s use of water cannons followed a series of incidents in the South China Sea, including the collisions between China’s vessels and two Manila ships on Oct. 22. The Philippines accused China’s coast guard of “intentionally” colliding with its vessels.