‘We will not stand still’: Wong sets out foreign policy vision for contest with China

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has declared the federal government will double down on efforts to ensure that China does not replace Australia as the Pacific’s top security partner, as the government moves to strike significant new security deals with Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Wong argued the government had achieved unthinkable foreign policy breakthroughs during its time in office as she insisted that middle powers such as Australia must pursue an “active and ambitious” foreign policy in an era of intense geopolitical competition between the United States and China.

“Australia cannot afford to stand still while tectonic plates are shifting around us because in these circumstances – that would mean going backwards,” Wong said in an address to the Australian Institute of International Affairs’ national conference on Monday night.

“So we will not stand still. We will continue to work with purpose and energy to protect and promote Australia’s interests.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was locked in a permanent contest for influence in the Pacific.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Setting out the government’s foreign policy priorities for its second term in office, Wong said: “China will continue trying to reshape the region according to its own interests.

“Russia, Iran and North Korea will continue to sabotage and destabilise.

“With so much activity and contest, things may not go Australia’s way every time, but we will keep pressing our national interest in the contest every day.”

Wong said the government was determined to strike new agreements with Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu following the recent signing of a new defence alliance with Papua New Guina and a defence treaty with Indonesia.

When Tongan King Tupou VI visited Australia in September, the two nations announced their intention to strike a comprehensive and enduring agreement named Kaume’a Ofi, meaning close friends in Tongan.

The Australian and Tongan governments said the agreement would put the “bilateral relationship on a new trajectory and has a transformational impact on our economies, security and peoples, maximising opportunities for the next generation while preserving our historic cultures”.

“The Kaume’a Ofi agreement will embody regionalism, including shared purpose, collective action and a Pacific family first approach to peace and security,” the nations said.

“It will help write the next chapter of regional integration.”

Tonga, which has a population around 105,000, has been repaying almost $200 million to China that it borrowed to help rebuild its capital following riots in its capital of Nukuʻalofa.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese completed a visit to Vanuatu in September without striking a $500 million security agreement as planned, but told this masthead last week he was still committed to the pact.

Albanese said during this year’s Pacific Islands Forum that Australia and Fiji had begun discussions on elevating their security relationship so the nations’ militaries could work closer together.

Wong said that the government had prioritised reopening avenues of dialogue with China, leading to the lifting of all trade restrictions without compromising the national interest.

The government has used these communications channels to raise concerns about recent dangerous encounters involving the Chinese military and Australian defence personnel, she added.

“My point here is that we should not be distracted by any false binary around this relationship – any claim that safeguarding our sovereignty is somehow mutually exclusive with productive economic ties. Our relationship is more complex than that,” she said.

“What we want is a relationship that allows us to cooperate and engage with China, while prosecuting our national interests and building security and prosperity in our region because we know that China will continue to be a major influence on our region, as well as on the multilateral system, which matters so much to Australia.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the flight deck of HMAS Canberra on November 12.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Wong said the government had reached “groundbreaking” treaties with four countries, upgraded or enhanced partnerships with six and made progress on agreements with another four since it came to power in 2022.

“None of this was thinkable in 2021,” she said.

She said that the government had been determined to be a good neighbour in the Pacific and treat other nations with respect.

“I can’t emphasise enough how important this has been in the Pacific, where the previous government’s disregard of climate science and disrespect for the Pacific family is still raised with me today,” Wong said.

Following Albanese’s recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, Wong said the United States remains Australia’s “closest ally, and our principal economic and strategic partner”.

“American leadership in our region remains indispensable – it is the great builder of alliances and networks, essential for balance in a multipolar region,” she said.

“But we know that the world we want today – and the world that we want our children to inherit – is not only a matter for the great powers.”

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