New Vanuatu PM Says To 'revisit' Australia Security Pact

Port Vila, Vanuatu, Sept 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2023 ) :Vanuatu's newly installed prime minister on Tuesday said he would "revisit" a recently signed security pact with Australia, signalling a possible shift away from pro-Western policies endorsed by his predecessor.

The 65-year-old Sato Kilman was elected by parliament on Monday, taking charge of a nation that is -- like many across the South Pacific -- being courted by China and the United States and its allies.

Australia and Vanuatu signed a landmark security pact in December, seemingly drawing the Melanesian nation closer to Western nations.

But Kilman, on his first full day in office on Tuesday, suggested the future of the agreement -- which has not yet been ratified -- was still uncertain.

"At some point, the government will need to revisit the thing to see whether it is a good thing for Vanuatu or not," Kilman told Australian broadcaster ABC when asked about the agreement.

"I am not sure whether it is in the best interest of Vanuatu or not," he said, claiming the government had not been consulted.

The document has been public since December.

If "there needs to be some changes, then we speak with Australia, we talk to Australia, to see what we can do together to make it something workable," he added.

Kilman's comments will likely stoke fears in Canberra that relations with one of its closest neighbours could be headed for choppy waters.

This is the fifth time Kilman has been elected prime minister. His most recent stint was back in 2016.

In 2012, he abruptly expelled Australian police personnel from Vanuatu after an aide was arrested for tax fraud while the pair were transiting through Sydney.

Kilman was also angered that he did not receive VIP treatment at the airport but was made to pass through customs and immigration like other passengers.

Across the South Pacific, climate-vulnerable countries are trying to balance relations between the West and China -- seeking to score much-needed funding from both while retaining their hard-won independence.

Many nations in the region are in desperate need of investment, as fragile economies falter and the costs related to climate change grow.

Neighbouring Solomon Islands has signed a secretive security pact with China that would allow the deployment of Chinese security personnel on the islands.

According to drafts seen by AFP, the document could pave the way for China to develop military or dual-use facilities in the Solomons.