Skip to main content
The Morning Star Shop
Australia-Tuvalu deal extends net around China
Meanwhile, emigration clause underlines islands' looming disappearance
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and Tuvalu's Prime Minister Kausea shake hands on One Foot Island after attending the Leaders' Retreat during the Pacific Islands Forum in Aitutaki, Cook Islands, November 9, 2023

AUSTRALIA secured a “groundbreaking” pact with the Pacific archipelago of Tuvalu today, forging exclusive military ties — but an emigration clause underlined fears climate change spells doom for the low-lying islands.

At a meeting of Pacific leaders in the Cook Islands, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano to announce the “Falepili Union,” which pledges Australia to provide military assistance to Tuvalu if asked, and requires Tuvalu to secure Australian agreement to any “security” arrangements made with any third country.

Mr Albanese was on his way home from a trip to China, seen as a bid to repair relations that had worsened under his neoconservative predecessor Scott Morrison.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Jon Farley
Interview / 16 August 2025
16 August 2025

Morning Star editor Ben Chacko speaks to JON FARLEY – the retired headteacher whose arrest in Leeds exposes the grim absurdity of the Palestine Action ban

Similar stories
HMS Spey in Brisbane, Australia ahead of the England v Nigeria Women's World Cup match. The arrival of the state-of-the-art Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Spey marks the first visit of the Royal Navy to Brisbane since the HMS Monmouth in 1995. Picture date: Monday August 7th, 2023
Features / 15 August 2025
15 August 2025

From 35,000 troops in Talisman Sabre war games to HMS Spey provocations in the Taiwan Strait, Labour continues Tory militarisation — all while claiming to uphold ‘one China’ diplomatic agreements from 1972, reports KENNY COYLE

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech during Na
World / 29 November 2024
29 November 2024
Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto (left) and Aust
World / 20 August 2024
20 August 2024