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Vanuatu’s new prime minister has said his government intends to “revisit” a security agreement with Australia, arguing it does not reflect his country’s priorities including climate change and travel mobility for its citizens.
Jotham Napat, who was elected in February, said the pact with Canberra had to be taken “back to the drawing board” as he sought a “win-win situation” in a renegotiated deal.
“Climate change for us is a security issue that is not reflected in the security agreement,” Napat told the Guardian.
“It’s something that we would like to revisit and be able to discuss openly with the Australian government.”
The bipartisan security deal, signed in 2022 but yet to be ratified by either nation, aims to strengthen cooperation in areas including disaster response, policing, cybersecurity and border security. Climate change is mentioned once in the document, under a section on “Environment and Resource Security”.
In addition to greater reference to climate change, Napat said he also wanted “an official waiver-free agreement with Australia” as part of a new deal so citizens could more easily travel between the two countries.
He had already spoken about these terms to Australian officials including the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and they were “happy for the two countries to revisit the security agreement”.
In a statement to the Guardian, an Australian foreign affairs department spokesperson said the government “welcome[s] recent comments by Vanuatu’s leaders on strengthening the bilateral relationship” and was “listening to Vanuatu’s priorities”.
Australia’s push for security and policing agreements with Pacific countries – including Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Fiji – has been widely viewed as part of its effort to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Beijing has expanded its security, diplomatic and economic presence across the Pacific, most recently signing a wide-ranging strategic partnership with the Cook Islands that covers areas including deep-sea mining, education and transport.
When asked about China, Napat said Vanuatu did not “have any preferences” in development partners: “We treat Australia the same as China and the United States.”
Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands programme at the Lowy Institute, said Vanuatu was well positioned to take advantage of the geopolitical competition.
“Vanuatu has a lot of leverage right now – Australia needs these sorts of security partnerships,” he said. “It’s looking to formalise existing activities and to elevate existing agreements wherever it can in a bid to build strategic insulation from China’s encroachment.”
China had been taking an “opportunistic approach” to expanding security partnerships in the Pacific, Sora said, relying on individual Pacific leaders to take up its open offers for further support. “China is looking to elevate its political ties and then for that to open the way for closer security cooperation across the Pacific.”
Vanuatu’s bid to secure new commitments with Australia comes as the US looks to retreat from significant pledges it has made to Pacific countries, particularly around economic development and climate action.
Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of his country from the Paris climate agreement, a move Napat said was deeply troubling for Vanuatu, a country on the frontlines of climate change.
“For us, it’s about our survival,” he said, adding that he would like to convince Trump “not to withdraw because everybody depends on the Paris agreement”.
Napat also said his government had not yet received confirmation on whether US aid to Vanuatu would be cut, but hoped that Washington would reconsider any plans to scale back support.
Under Joe Biden’s presidency, the US widened its presence in the Pacific, opening new diplomatic posts, negotiating a security deal with PNG, and vowing to deepen economic aid. Sora said some of these initiatives were unlikely to continue under the Trump administration.
“What is likely to happen based on recent developments coming out of Washington is that the US will maintain a narrow security interest in the Pacific,” Sora said.
“But we’re not likely to see the United States live up to its commitments on engaging with economic development and climate change.”
Beyond security and diplomacy, Napat said his new government’s priority was ongoing recovery efforts after the devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu in December in 2024. The downtown of the capital, Port Vila, remains largely closed as damaged buildings are still being cleared and rebuilt.
“We are hoping that before the middle of this year, we should be able to open the main central business district,” Napat said.
