SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia and Pacific nation Nauru announced a landmark security treaty yesterday.
Under the deal, Nauru will seek Australia’s agreement before it signs any bilateral accords on maritime security, defence and policing.
In return, Nauru will receive USD64 million in direct budget support and a further USD25 million to bolster its stretched police force.
“This treaty will make our region stronger and it will make our region safer,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“It’s a good day for the security and resilience of the Pacific region.”
Nauru President David Adeang said it would give the developing nation a “vital” economic boost while enhancing “mutual security”. Nauru will also consult Australia if other parties look to strike agreements granting them access to critical infrastructure such as ports and airfields or its banking sector.
Australia has committed to keeping a retail bank open on Nauru.
Western banks have been closing branches throughout the South Pacific for years, citing political turmoil, wafer-thin profits and the high cost of doing business.
Australia ratified a similar treaty with low-lying Pacific nation Tuvalu this year.
Under that accord, Tuvalu residents will be offered the right to live in Australia if their homeland is swamped by rising seas.
Nauru, population 12,500, is one of the world’s smallest countries with a mainland measuring just 20 square kilometres.
It is considered especially vulnerable to climate change and has high rates of unemployment and health issues, a recent World Bank assessment said.
Nauru was once one of the world’s richest countries per capita, exporting the phosphate mined from the accumulated droppings of circling seabirds.
But that boon has long dried up, leaving much of the mainland a barren moonscape unsuitable for either housing or for growing food.
For years Nauru replaced some of this lost income by running an immigration detention centre for asylum seekers refused entry to Australia.
