This week in Australian Foreign Affairs, the Australian Government reached a major milestone in Pacific connectivity with all Pacific Islands Forum members, the Prime Minister welcomes Thailand’s Prime Minister and deepened bilateral ties, Australia and Vietnam deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across defence, security, trade and innovation, and more.
On 7 August, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Pacific Island Affairs Minister Pat Conroy announced a major milestone for the Pacific. All Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members now connected to undersea telecommunications cables for the first time. The Foreign Minister noted that Australia has committed more than $500 million since 2018, helping deliver more than 10,300 kilometres of new undersea cables, ensuring every PIF member is connected to the global cable network. Foreign Minister, in a media release, “A more connected Pacific is a more resilient Pacific. This infrastructure strengthens economic growth, supports essential services and will help underpin a more peaceful, stable and prosperous region.”
On the same day, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the recipients of the 2026 Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR) Grants Program. The program supports ten projects that will strengthen Australia’s economic, cultural and people-to-people links with the Middle East and North Africa. Among the selected projects are initiatives such as expanded healthcare access in Lebanon, strengthening the capacity of Saudi medical professionals, enhance preparedness for respiratory disease outbreaks and advancing Australia-UAE marine conservation efforts, investing over $2.3 million.
On 11 August, Australia and Vietnam have agreed to bolster defence and security cooperation to support a shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, His Excellency Mr To Lam issued the Joint Statement on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and Vietnam. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in a media release, said, “These new agreements deliver practical cooperation between our countries and help ensure we can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex strategic environment.”
On the same day, Australia and Vietnam also agreed to strengthen cooperation across education, trade and innovation, to enhance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Trade Ministers signed an agreement to deepen cooperation in the digital economy, including supporting cross-border trade to promote e-commerce and create opportunities for Australian businesses in digital health and banking services. Australia and Vietnam also agreed to continue to strengthen existing cooperation on agriculture and sustainable development, including biosecurity, food safety and aquaculture. Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell noted, in a media release, “Vietnam is experiencing rapid economic growth with an expanding middle class, and we’re ensuring Australia’s world class producers and exporters are best placed to meet the country’s growing demand.”
On 13 August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on behalf of the Government and people of Australia, extended his sincere condolences on the passing of former Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, H. E. Mr Zhu Rongji. The Prime Minister noted that Mr Zhu oversaw milestone achievements in the development of China’s modern market economy, including accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Mr Zhu worked together with Australian counterparts, including during his visit to Australia in 1992, to help anchor economic growth within a more secure and stable region.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong released a statement on 15 August acknowledging the violent repression experienced in Afghanistan as the day marks five years since the fall of Kabul. In the statement released with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Minister and the Minister, the Australian government supports the Afghan people in holding the Taliban accountable as the country continues to experience one of the worst humanitarian crises.
The following day the Prime Minister welcomed Thailand’s Prime Minister on his arrival to Canberra. During the short visit the Prime Ministers’ released two joint statements seeking to reaffirm the two countries bilateral ties and intentions to build closer ones. The first statement expressed both countries’ deepening concerns over increasingly sophisticated transnational crime, particularly online scams and the use of emerging technologies to facilitate cybercrime, human trafficking, financial fraud, and money laundering.
The second statement outlines a deepening economic engagement between Australia and Thailand. The leaders have agreed to strengthen economic engagement to gain mutual growth, resilience, and prosperity, this includes cooperation in supporting clean energy transitions, within industries such as Australia’s solar energy sector and Thailand’s battery storage investments.
On 20 August the Foreign Minister released two statements. The first condemns the decision made by the Israeli government to not pursue criminal proceedings to hold those responsible for killing Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues to account. Wong expresses that the Israeli ambassador to Australia will be contacted to convey the Australian government’s views on the matter.
The second statement details the strengthening and streamlining of Australia’s Foreign Arrangements Scheme. The reforms in the scheme seek to implement recommendations from Rosemary Huxtable AO PSM independent review in 2025. The updates will make it so, for the first time “universities will be legally required to assess whether research projects could adversely affect the national interest or be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy.”
Earlier in the week, the Defence Minister announced he will be travelling to Papua New Guinea and the Solomons Islands from 16-17 August. His first visit being to PNG, the Defence Minister released a joint statement with his Papua New Guinean counterpart outlining the two countries’ advancement of the PukPuk treaty. The treaty is PNG’s first alliance with any country, working to deepen bilateral defence cooperation and establish priority initiatives, such as a recruitment pathway for PNG citizens to join the Australian Defence Force.
The last day of Richard Marles’s trip was spent in the Solomon Islands, where the Deputy Prime Minister and the Solomon Islands’ Deputy Prime Minister announced the opening of the Western Border Outpost in the country’s Shorthand Islands. The joint infrastructure project is aimed to strengthen the Solomon Islands border management and maritime security capabilities. Minister Marles says the project “stands as a practical demonstration of what Australia and Solomon Islands can achieve together and provides a sovereign asset for Solomon Islands to use to strengthen its security.”
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