Marles – who is also defence minister – vowed that Australia would “do its share” to bolster its military capabilities in the region,noting the Albanese government was determined to “take greater responsibility for its own security” compared to its predecessors.

The US and Australia have been criticised for neglecting the Pacific after a post-Cold War focus on Europe,the Middle East and Asia. Anna Powles,a Pacific security expert and senior lecturer at Massey University,said previous attempts to fashion US Pacific programs have lacked consistency and agency for Pacific nations.

But China’s ambitions to establish a military foothold in the Pacific,as well as its infrastructure investment throughout Fiji and other island nations,have forced the White House and Canberra to recalibrate their approach. The region has been frustrated by a lack of climate action,the economic impacts of COVID-19,and a perception that it was caught up in the geostrategic struggle between the US and China.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told the leaders’ forum on Tuesday that climate change was hurting the Pacific’s security and livelihoods.

“It is damaging our economies,and in many instances,it is threatening our very sovereignty,as climate-induced sea-level rise threatens our exclusive economic zones,” he said.

“On top of this,the global geopolitical landscape is hotly competitive,as we see a multi-polar system emerge featuring major superpower rivalry,alongside a number of middle powers all clamouring to shape the world in their favour.”

Kiribati’s withdrawal from the forum and growing concerns about Solomon Island’s security pact with Beijing prompted Foreign Minister Penny Wong to explicitly call for unity in her first official comments in Suva. “The region is stronger together. It’s a simple proposition,” she said on Tuesday.

“All the nations are seeking to navigate challenges. And we do it best when we can do it together and that’s the approach Australia’s taken. And that’s the approach the Pacific Islands Forum is taking and that is why Pacific Forum unity is so important.”

China’s foreign ministry spokesman,Wang Wenbin,labelled as “groundless” claims that China had encouraged Kiribati to withdraw. “I would like to stress that China does not interfere in the internal affairs of Pacific Island countries,” he said.

Nauru’s President Lionel Aingimea also pulled out of the forum on Tuesday. The Pacific Island nation has formed close ties with Beijing but Radio New Zealand reported on Tuesday that Aingimea’s withdrawal was due to rising levels of COVID-19 after the small nation recorded more than 600 cases last week.

Marles told the Centre for Strategic and International Studies,one of Washington’s leading think tanks,that the US and Australia “could not afford to stand still” as they grapple with a military build-up from China “occurring at a rate unseen since World War II.”

“In the years ahead,the US-Australia alliance will not only have to operate in a much more challenging strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific;it will need to contribute to a more effective balance of military power aimed at avoiding a catastrophic failure of deterrence,” he said.

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