Австралия и Фиджи оформили стратегический союз, а Вануату требует отозвать помилование насильника

Pacific news in brief for 13 August Fiji A Fijian military commander is calling for stronger military ties with Australia after attending Exercise Pitch Black 26. Major General Jone Kalouniwai said closer cooperation would strengthen Fiji's command-and-control capabilities, intelligence support, and participation in regional exercises. The call follows July's Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance agreements between Fiji and Australia. These treaties are commitments of integration in security, economies, and people between the two. Tuvalu Tuvalu's Police Force has sent four officers to be part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. In a statement, the government said three officers departed Tuvalu last week. Prime Minister Feleti Teo acknowledged government concern for the wellbeing of the officers, but expressed confidence in the UN systems for the safety of personnel on peacekeeping missions. According to the UN, more than 150 peacekeepers from the Pacific, predominantly from Fiji, were deployed somewhere in the world as peacekeepers, as of March this year. Vanuatu Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has reportedly asked the country's President, Nikenike Vurobaravu, to revoke a pardon he granted to a convicted rapist. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that four men convicted on rape charges received presidential pardons at the end of July. Napat said he intended to move for Parliament to review the president's pardoning powers, noting he has previously raised a similar concern with the president in May 2025. Australia Australia has tabled its Veitacini Mutual Defence Treaty with Fiji in the Senate. The agreement establishes the Ocean of Peace alliance, committing each country to support the other if they are attacked. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it marked an important milestone in the way that the Pacific sees itself strategically. The Vuvale Union Treaty was also tabled, which provides for more than a billion dollars in Australian grants and loans to Fiji. Fiji Fiji's Cabinet is expected to lay out its plans for constitutional reform next month. Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said a constitutional reform bill will be tabled in parliament before it goes to a referendum. Cabinet is awaiting a report from the Constitutional Reform Commission, and Tuaraga said cabinet cannot agree to a makeup of the bill until then. The Commission closed public submissions on constitutional reform at the end of June.