Coronavirus: Australia vows to beef up aid to Pacific allies

Australia will ramp up support for the Pacific’s coronavirus response after Pacific nations activated crisis provisions in a regional security pact.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne. Picture: AAP

Australia will ramp up support for the Pacific’s coronavirus response after Pacific Island Forum nations activated crisis provisions in a regional security pact to deal with the crisis as an “extended family”.

The move came as Scott Morrison and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed Australia and the US would work to support countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, “and to align our efforts as we worked towards recovery”.

Mr Pompeo tweeted after his call with the Prime Minister that they’d had a “productive” discussion “about co-ordinating efforts to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne joined PIF counterparts in a teleconference on Wednesday, which resolved to fast-track a humanitarian response under the forum’s Biketawa Declaration on regional security. The declaration cements Australia’s key role in supporting under-resourced island nations in tackling the health and economic crises.

The meeting’s chairman, Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe, said the unprecedented COVID-19 emergency required forum nations to work together.

“The Biketawa Declaration recognises that in times of crisis, all actions must be taken on the basis that all members of the forum are part of the Pacific Islands extended family,” he said. “This, I believe, is the Pacific way.”

He said the move would help secure humanitarian support from regional, international and development partners in a fast and efficient manner.

“This could include expediting medical assistance, customs clearance of medical supplies, and facilitating diplomatic clearances for chartered flights and commercial shipping,” Mr Kofe said.

Minister the Pacific Alex Hawke, who has been accused of being “missing in action” during the crisis, recently defended Australia’s contributions to the regional response, amid Chinese donations of cash and medical equipment.

Without naming China, which has been accused of providing substandard equipment to developing countries, Mr Hawke said Australia’s delivery might be slower but it was effective.