Albanese was welcomed with full honours at the Blackrock military camp in Nadi and drank kava as a guest of honour while assembled soldiers,some in traditional dress,watched on.
The cup of kava,an earthy,bitter drinkprevious visitors have found difficult to keep down,was handed to Albanese soon after former prime ministerPaul Keating denounced the AUKUS pact in remarks from Sydney to the National Press Club in Canberra.
“Thank you for your warm support and for confirming that you want a family-first approach to security,which is our approach as well,” Albanese said to Rabuka in their first remarks.
Later,in a formal bilateral meeting,Rabuka mentioned the statement by Albanese in announcing the next phase of AUKUS in the United States the previous day.
“It reinforced the feeling we’ve always had when we look back over the conflict the world has entered into in the past,” he said,before pool reporters were ushered out of the room.
In a briefing later,a senior member of the Australian government said the message from the Fijian leader was that he supported the AUKUS agreement and Fiji’s ties with its traditional security partners.