AUSTRALIA signed a military pact with Fiji on Monday as it pursues a wider range of regional alliances under the umbrella of the US containment of China in the Indo-Pacific.

The “Ocean of Peace Alliance” commits the countries to mutual defence “in time of need” and accompanies an update to a wider treaty, the “Vuvale Union,” which will facilitate Australian investment in Fiji and co-operation on policing and immigration.

Australia is part of an overlapping array of military blocs in the region, forming part of the Quad with India, Japan and the United States and the Aukus nuclear submarine pact with the US and Britain.

In 2023, it secured commitments from Tuvalu to seek Australian agreement to any defence arrangements with third parties in return for a programme to resettle Tuvalu residents; their Pacific island is likely to be submerged by rising sea levels this century. Australian PM Anthony Albanese heads to the Solomon Islands today to discuss a security pact with its leader Matthew Wale, who has agreed to “review” an existing agreement with China.