India's Prime Minister visiting Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand signals a strategic deepening of the Act East Policy to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, with a new Australia-Fiji defence...
India's Prime Minister visiting Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand signals a strategic deepening of the Act East Policy to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, with a new Australia-Fiji defence pact providing complementary regional architecture.
China signed a security agreement with Solomon Islands in 2022, triggering sustained Australian and US efforts to re-engage Pacific island nations through defence partnerships.
The specific operational commitments of the Australia-Fiji defence pact — whether it includes basing rights, joint exercises, or intelligence sharing — remain unspecified in available summaries.
No outlet addresses how Indonesia or New Zealand has responded to the India-Australia parallel Indo-Pacific engagement, nor whether ASEAN has a formal position.
The Hindu quotes PM Modi framing the visits as strengthening the Act East Policy across the Eastern and Southern Indian Ocean, emphasising India's independent regional positioning.
Deutsche Welle focuses on the Australia-Fiji defence pact specifically, noting Fiji had grown closer to Beijing under its previous leadership and now consulting Canberra on security.
Japan Times covers Australia's signing of the defence alliance with Fiji in the context of outmanoeuvring China in the South Pacific, framing it as a strategic counter-positioning.
This page maps the coverage. The 3 articles below are the original reports the comparison is drawn from — open them for each publisher's full reporting.
‘My visit to Indonesia and Australia in the Eastern and Southern Indian Ocean, respectively, followed by New Zealand, will further strengthen India's Act East Policy’, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Fiji, which had grown closer to Beijing under its former leadership, will now consult Canberra on security developments.
Canberra is bolstering ties with its South Pacific island neighbor as it seeks to outmaneuver China in the region.
