The Pacific Islands have become an arena of intensifying geopolitical competition. This policy brief proposes Australia should lead the creation of a formal intelligence-sharing framework – a 'Pacific Eyes agreement' – initially involving Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji, the four most closely aligned countries in the region.

This paper makes initial policy proposals concerning the following Pacific maritime security issues: responding to geopolitical competition; legal and regulatory environment; fisheries cooperation; transnational crime; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also makes initial policy proposals for how partner countries can enhance their maritime security assistance and cooperation in the Pacific Islands region.

The ocean is critical to the lives and livelihoods of Pacific people, and Pacific Island countries manage more than 10% of the earth’s oceans. This set of 13 papers examines what maritime security means in the Pacific Islands region, what maritime security mechanisms exist and what forms of assistance partners are providing in the region.

2023 saw marked improvement in Japan-South Korea relations, coinciding with the deterioration of both nations' relationships with China. This report assesses the causes and outcomes of the shift, arguing that the partnership, which increasingly includes the US, makes Japan and South Korea key partners for advancing Australia’s economic and diplomatic interests.

This report examines the need for Australian diplomatic and political support, military assistance, humanitarian and medical assistance. The report confirms the reasons for unreservedly seeking to help Ukraine and makes a series of recommendations aimed at refining Australian support in each sphere.