Australia is moving to boost ties with small island nations off its eastern coastline, pushing back against China¡¯s growing influence in the Pacific Ocean as the virus outbreak hinders travel.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison¡¯s government has promised to supply its neighbors with COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 as part of a 500 million Australian dollars ($388.7 million) package aimed at achieving ¡°full immunization coverage¡± in the region. It also recently signed a ¡°landmark¡± deal with Fiji, one of the region¡¯s most populous nations, to allow military deployments and exercises in each other¡¯s jurisdiction.
¡°China has largely been missing in action in regards to providing COVID-related support in the region,¡± said Jonathan Pryke, who heads research on the region for Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute. ¡°Australia has built up an amount of goodwill by not forgetting about the Pacific in a time of crisis.¡±
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