Penny Wong visits Samoa to bolster regional ties and reveal maritime security gift

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is in Samoa where she announced a new development partnership and maritime security gift.

Continued efforts to rebuild Australia’s goodwill in the Pacific saw Foreign Minister Penny Wong visit Samoa on Thursday.

Speaking alongside Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata‘afa, Senator Wong revealed Australia would engage in an eight-year development partnership with the country to help tackle humanitarian and social issues.

Australia will also provide Samoa with a new Guardian-class maritime patrol boat to replace another vessel that ran aground in August 2021.

“A new Australian government has been formed. We want to put more energy and more resources into the Pacific - to engage more closely and to listen respectfully,” Senator Wong told reporters in capital Apia.

Australia will gift Samoa with a replacement patrol boat and engage in an eight-year development partnership. Senator Wong also reiterated her government’s commitment to tackling climate change.

The visit coincides with a lengthy Pacific tour by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which China has signed development and cooperation deals with several countries.

Ms Fiame played down the importance of deals signed while Mr Wang was in Samoa last Saturday.

“The signing that took place here last week were bilateral programs. Most of them had started a number of years ago and it was a formalising process,” she said.

Ms Fiame also explained her decision not to sign a recent region-wide economic and security agreement proposed by China that was to include 10 Pacific nations but was shot down by most involved.

She said the nature of the deal meant it could not be agreed to without first being discussed at the Pacific Islands Forum.

“Our position was that you cannot have regional agreement when the region hasn’t met to discuss it,” Ms Fiame said.

Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa played down the importance of bilateral deals signed with China during a visit by the country’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Photo by Vaitogi Asuisui Matafeo / Samoa Observer / AFP)

Ms Fiame welcomed Australia’s cooperation with her country and said the new patrol boat would help ensure the security of the region.

“I think it’s very generous on the part of the Australian government and people that they are gifting us yet another patrol boat despite the unfortunate circumstances of our last boat,” Ms Fiame said.