by Martin Haffner Associate Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia will get an effective veto right over Nauru entering a security agreement with another country under a pact that will prop up the Pacific nation\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two countries will have to mutually agree to any engagement in Nauru\u2019s security, banking and telecommunications sectors and consult on outside engagement in other critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it is yet to be seen how the mutual security clause might work in action, the wording suggests Australia has to sign off on any external agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It essentially locks out a policing agreement with China as Australia pushes back against Beijing\u2019s moves to gain a security foothold in the region after it signed a pact with the Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In exchange, Australia will provide $100 million (US$63.95 million) for Nauru\u2019s budget and $40 million (US$25.58 million) for policing and security, both over five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commonwealth Bank will provide banking services in the small island nation from 2025 after Bendigo Bank departs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia has been working with major banks to keep a Pacific presence amid fears China could use any vacuum to ingrain itself in regional financial services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nauru-Australia treaty was in the best interests of both countries, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe treaty also reflects our shared commitment to Pacific-led security,\u201d he told a joint press conference in Canberra on Monday after the agreement was signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a good day for Australia, this is a good day for Nauru and it is a good day for the security and resilience of the Pacific region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nauru was the Pacific\u2019s most vulnerable nation, President David Adeang said as he welcomed Australia\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe appreciate Australia\u2019s steadfast support as we try to address our unique development challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The treaty will come into force in 2025 following domestic requirements for both nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Martin Haffner Associate Editor Australia will get an effective veto right over Nauru entering a security agreement with another country under a pact that will prop up the Pacific nation\u2019s budget. The two countries will have to mutually agree to any engagement in Nauru\u2019s security, banking and telecommunications sectors and consult on outside engagement…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nauru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificislands.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}