Calgary Tribune - Australia's top diplomat to visit Samoa, Tonga trailing Chinese counterpart

As Australia and China duel for influence in the vast region, Wong announced she was getting back on a plane to "renew and strengthen Australia's deep ties of friendship and family".

Since being sworn in nine days ago, Wong has already visited Japan -- for a meeting of Quad countries the United States, India, Japan and Australia -- and Fiji.

Her latest trip comes as China's foreign minister Wang Yi barnstorms through the region, looking to significantly deepen Beijing's influence.

Although Wang failed to secure support for a regional security deal that would have seen Beijing play a bigger role in sensitive areas like policing and cybersecurity, Wang has been inking a series of agreements on each of his stops.

In Tonga on Tuesday, he pledged China's support for sports stadiums and wind power projects, according to state media, while signing a series of deals on disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture, fisheries and healthcare.

In Samoa late last month, Wang signed a bilateral agreement that included a plan to build a police fingerprinting lab, in addition to an already announced police academy in the country.

Wang's ten-day trip concludes with stops in Vanuatu on Wednesday and Papua New Guinea on Thursday and Friday.

Australia's new centre-left government is playing catch-up after years of relations with the Pacific Islands being hampered by the conservative government's foot-dragging on climate change.

Rising sea levels are seen as an existential threat by many of the low-lying Pacific Island nations.

Visiting Fiji, Wong said Australia would set new, more ambitious emissions targets and bid to co-host a future UN climate conference with Pacific Island countries.

There would be no more "disrespecting" Pacific nations or "ignoring" their calls to act on climate change, she said.

W.Scott--CT