Pacific Version of NATO Launched to Counter China
Australia and Fiji have struck a military alliance obliging them to go to each other's aid if attacked, in a pact that follows China's moves to increase its influence in the South Pacific.
Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese and Fijian premier Sitiveni Rabuka touted the Ocean of Peace Alliance this week in an agreement that could transform the region's security landscape and include more members, such as New Zealand.
As Newsweek has previously reported, Beijing has extended its military reach across the Pacific by building ports, airports, and communications projects. In 2023, China signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands, located 1,200 miles north east of Australia, which raised concerns among the nation's traditional regional partners.
Albanese, who leads the Labor Party, has a policy of engagement with Beijing but has tried to push back on growing Chinese influence in the Pacific since he assumed office in 2022.
The Ocean of Peace Alliance could include other regional members, with New Zealand announcing that it was also looking at joining, raising the prospect of a South Pacific equivalent to NATO which met in Ankara this week.
"There’s no higher obligation than to come to each other’s aid at a time of need," Albanese said in the signing ceremony in Fiji's capital, Suva on Monday.
Nesweek has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China for comment.
Pacific Version Of NATO?
Canberra and Suva have also signed the Vuvale Union security and development pact committing Australia to spending $1 billion on education and health infrastructure in Fiji. The Ocean of Peace Alliance marks the first time Fiji has joined an alliance. It is now Australia's fourth formal ally, after the United States, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Under the treaty's terms, the countries will consult on measures linked to a “security-related development that threatens the sovereignty, peace or stability” of either party. It also recognized that if there were an armed attack on either country, they “would act to meet the common danger."
The pact could open the door for a wider Pacific security coalition. On Thursday, New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon announced that the government he leads would now discuss with Australia and Fiji exploring membership of the Alliance with the final decision taken by Cabinet and parliament.
"We already work with both countries on how we can develop a safer region for all, so engaging with them on this alliance is logical," Luxon said in a statement.
Australia's ABC News reported that Canberra is only looking to extend the treaty to nations in the region which have a standing military, like New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
China's South Pacific Footprint
Australia has reached deals aimed at curbing China's regional influence, which include the Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu and the Falepili Union treaty with Tuvalu.
Canberra is also looking to kickstart treaty talks with the Solomon Islands whose deeper economic and security ties with Beijing have caused concerns in Canberra. A secretive security agreement with Beijing in 2022 raised fears of a Chinese military force in the South Pacific.
As Newsweek reported in April 2025, China has developed projects throughout the Pacific, from Papua New Guinea north of Australia, to Samoa, which lies about 40 miles away from the U.S. territory of American Samoa in Polynesia.
The logistics network of ports, airports, and communications projects form part of China’s 2013 “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), global infrastructure plan.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Cristina Diciu.
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 9:39 AM.