Tuvalu’s climate deal with Australia comes with a ‘trade-off’ as China deepens Pacific ties
- Australia’s resettlement visa will give mobility to citizens of the sinking island who are in ‘distress as a result of land loss and inability to sustain themselves’
- But security and defence conditions in the two countries’ upgraded partnership mean Tuvalu may have to ‘surrender some sovereignty’ as Australia keeps an eye on China’s activities in the region
Australia’s climate resettlement scheme with Tuvalu offers citizens of the sinking Pacific island a pathway to “migration with dignity”, but the defence conditions of the two countries’ upgraded ties show it is not a “free lunch” amid Beijing’s increased economic and defence activities in the region, analysts said.
The climate aspect of the deal validated what had been a long push for Tuvaluan migration into Australia, experts said.
“It is a safety valve for the most affected, and those in distress as a result of land loss and inability to sustain themselves in atolls,” said Patrick Kaiku, a political-science teaching fellow at the University of Papua New Guinea. “Tuvalu has in recent years been a strong advocate for climate justice, and it makes sense that it is a recipient of this climate refugee visa arrangement from Australia.”
Shailendra Singh, an associate professor in journalism at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, said the deal was mutually beneficial, with mobility becoming increasingly vital for Tuvalu, and Australia keen to prove it is “part of the Pacific family” amid criticism Canberra had not met that promise.
But he noted that a condition in the pact was that the two sides must agree on any security or defence-related matters that Tuvalu might seek with other countries – a requirement likely pointed squarely at China.
Beijing’s increased defence and security dealings with Pacific nations in recent years have rattled Australia and allies such as the United States.
