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Regional security collaboration is set to be a key focus of the latest bilateral meeting between Australia and New Zealand.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has arrived in Sydney to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the second time since his election to government in late May.
The Australia New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting (ANZLM) — to be held from 6 to 8 July — is expected to focus on the nations’ shared economic links, regional security ambitions, Indigenous cooperation, migration settings, economic recovery and climate change.
This latest visit will also include the first meeting of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am delighted to welcome Prime Minister Ardern back to Australia, along with her delegation of government and business leaders,” Prime Minister Albanese said.
“This will be our second bilateral meeting in the past month, which is a reflection of the closeness of our trans-Tasman relationship. It truly is one of family.
“I look forward to discussing ways to strengthen Australia’s bond with one of our closest neighbours.”
These talks form part of a broader push to strengthen cooperation between Australia and New Zealand amid uncertainty in the region, particularly in light of Chinese expansion in the South Pacific.
China recently struck a security deal with the Solomon Islands, which reportedly includes Chinese commitments to deploy “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces” personnel to the Solomon Islands.
China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, had also proposed the “China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision”, which offers intermediate and high-level police training for Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands, Niue, Vanuatu, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
This was accompanied by a five-year action plan, which calls for ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation.
This included the provision of forensic laboratories, cooperation on data networks, cyber security, and smart customs systems.
However, Beijing reportedly withdrew its proposal after it was met with resistance from some Pacific Islands leaders.
Both Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Ardern are scheduled to attend the Pacific Islands Forum next week.
Prime Minister Albanese has stressed the importance of the multinational dialogue, defending the necessity of overseas travel amid Australia’s flood crisis.
“The Pacific Islands Forum is an important event. Australia cannot remain isolated from our national interests,” he said.
“…Part of that job is to be represented in international forums. We saw what happened earlier this year when Australia dropped the ball with engagement in the Pacific.”
[Related: Can an Albanese-Ardern alliance help check China’s Pacific push?]
