The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union dressed up as a bilateral treaty – meaning it works for both countries – should really have been called the Australia Defence Treaty in Tuvalu. Because that’s exactly what it is.
The Australian line about it being “honoured to respond” and “the foresight of the Government of Tuvalu in seeking it (the treaty)” is nothing but a con job.
Controlling the narrative is something that Australia is extremely good at. Tuvalu was ripe for the picking. The tiny islands are badly affected by the impacts of climate change and their coral atolls means they can’t grow anything there and the economy struggles.
Their resources are the sea and what it yields and its strategic location – in the west central Pacific Ocean.
These resources are valuable to big foreign countries as geopolitical tension between China and western allies, namely the US and Australia, play out.
I know for a fact Tuvalu did not ask for this particular agreement, which Australia is claiming. Tuvalu has asked many countries for help and Australia saw an opportunity and took it.
It comes against the background of China’s increasing involvement in the Pacific. The Asian giant has offered so-called “soft loans” to Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. And the Solomons reached a controversial security arrangement with China.
Who gets what?
Tuvalu gets $16.9 million for climate change adaptation, which is nice but compared to military expenditure a drop in the bucket. Tuvalu also receives a “special mobility pathway” and we are told that up to 280 people a year can use it.
Exactly what that means we don’t know as there’s no mention of what immigration status they will hold or what will happen to the people on this “special mobility pathway” if the deal ever gets cancelled. All these things are yet to be worked out.
Australia has tied up Tuvalu on all things defence and security. Tuvalu cannot enter into any partnership or engage with anyone else without Australia’s approval.
This extends to infrastructure. Say a country like Japan offers Tuvalu aid to help build a wharf in one of the outer islands, Australia has to approve it.
Tuvalu’s sovereignty
So how does Tuvalu’s sovereignty work here? Their Prime Minister Kausea Natano told me Tuvalu has the ultimate control and they can partner up with who they like – but that’s absolutely not the case from my reading of the agreement.
On top of that, Australia gets an agreement with Tuvalu on timeframes and conditions for its “personnel” (let’s say it how it is – military personnel) to operate in Tuvalu.
This deal is a little bit like Tuvalu going to a shop and getting a packet of bubble gum in exchange for a million bucks.
If there’s a dispute over the treaty, Tuvalu is not allowed to take it to any national or international tribunal or court or any third party to resolve the problem. If Tuvalu wants to get out of this, they can terminate the agreement. But it only becomes effective after 12 months.
As for Gerry Brownlee’s assessment on Q&A that this is a good deal and Australia has done the right thing, well he’s right – it’s certainly a good deal for Australia. The sycophantic colonial backslapping between Australia and New Zealand’s incoming government is nauseating.
The Australians locked down the Tuvalu Government in the months this treaty has been in negotiation. There was to be no talk about it, there was no public consultation.
There are a number of politicians and officials in Tuvalu diametrically opposed to it. There is an election early next year and if there is a change of government they are likely to take a different view of this. Legislation may be required to implement some of the aspects.
There’s no doubt that Tuvalu needs a good partnership – but this isn’t an equal partnership. It’s a strategic victory for Australia.
Prime Minister Kausea Natano has pushed back
Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano has pushed back against concerns his country has given too much away in a new security and climate treaty with Australia.
The new deal will see multi-million-dollar investment for climate adaption in the small island nation, but imposes restrictions on who else it can partner up with.
Australia is investing $16.9m to help expand Tuvalu’s land by 6% and will accept 280 Tuvaluans a year to live, work and study.
Under the terms of the new treaty, Tuvalu will require Australia’s agreement on any partnership, arrangement or engagement on security and defence matters.
However, Natano told 1News that Tuvalu will control everything regarding its sovereignty.
“The treaty we have signed is a means of elevating the support in terms of security, economic benefits, and access to [Australia].”
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni understands the challenges Tuvalu is facing, with its low-lying atolls making it likely to be one of the first countries significantly affected by climate change.
“Seeing what’s happening with Tuvalu and Australia to me, that’s a very innovative way of progressing and making sure Tuvalu would be OK if something happens.”
Privately, several Pacific leaders have told 1News that they are concerned about the deal.
A top Pacific specialist said that Australia is following China’s lead in the region.
So-called “soft loans” have been offered to Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, said Professor Steven Ratuva at the University of Canterbury.
“That is the new shadow which is casting a lot of doubts about Australia’s engagement in the region.”
Another superpower vying for influence in the Pacific, the United States, sent its UN ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to the forum.
She said that China has a different approach to working with Pacific countries than the United States does.
Source: 1News.co.nz