Australia and Fiji signed a mutual defense agreement and an economic treaty in Suva on Monday. The defense pact, called the Ocean of Peace Alliance, makes the two countries obligated to aid each other in times of need. The economic treaty, the Vuvale Union, commits Australia to invest more than AUD 1 billion over the next decade. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the alliance “introduces a mutual defense obligation and there’s no higher obligation than to come to each other’s aid at a time of need.” Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he did not anticipate severe pushback from China and said the treaties reflect shared understanding of regional challenges. He said the agreements are built on three pillars: deeper security cooperation, enhanced economic integration and strengthened people‑to‑people connections. The arrangement is Fiji’s first mutual defense treaty and Australia’s fourth, following 1951 agreements with the United States and New Zealand and a 2023 treaty with Papua New Guinea. Australia has been expanding its security role in the Pacific since 2022, when China signed a secretive security pact with the Solomon Islands, raising concerns about a potential Chinese naval base. Albanese will travel to the Solomon Islands on Tuesday to meet with Prime Minister Matthew Wale. In Brisbane, Albanese will host Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Tongan Prime Minister Fatafehi Fakafānua. The Australia‑Papua New Guinea defense treaty took effect on Wednesday. Australia and Vanuatu signed a security and economic treaty last week, preventing China from establishing a military base on the island. China expressed concern that the Vanuatu agreement, known as the Nakamal Agreement, could be directed at Beijing.