China accuses Australia of 'geopolitical games' after Nakamal base-exclusion pact

Beijing's Foreign Ministry warned Canberra that Pacific cooperation must not target third parties, after the Nakamal Agreement locked in Vanuatu's ban on foreign military bases and required Suva to consult Canberra on critical infrastructure deals

Summary

China's Foreign Ministry told Canberra on June 30 that the Nakamal Agreement signed the previous day amounts to "geopolitical games," with spokesperson Guo Jiakun stating Beijing hoped regional cooperation would contribute to stability and not be used to target third parties. The Nakamal Agreement, signed June 29 by Prime Ministers Albanese and Napat, permanently bars foreign military bases from Vanuatu and requires Port Vila to consult Canberra on third-party engagement with critical infrastructure, a clause China views as a structural check on its own infrastructure projects in the island nation. Vanuatu is separately negotiating an economic deal with China. Beijing stopped short of a formal démarche, choosing language calibrated to discourage further Pacific defections without triggering a diplomatic rupture it cannot afford amid the still-active Iran war fallout.

Why it matters

Vanuatu sits at the strategic centre of the Pacific island chain that runs from the Philippines to Fiji, and a Chinese military presence there would have given Beijing maritime reach into the Coral Sea and proximity to Australia's north-east coast. The base-exclusion clause closes the most direct route. The infrastructure consultation clause is the sharper long-term instrument: it places a layer of Australian scrutiny on any Chinese port, cable or energy project in Vanuatu. China's mild reaction suggests it is choosing its battles, but the Global Times framing signals Beijing intends to contest the pact's interpretation at every future infrastructure decision.

What to watch

How Vanuatu navigates its parallel China economic negotiations, now subject to the Nakamal consultation clause.
Whether other Pacific island states face Australian or US pressure to adopt similar base-exclusion language.
China's response when the first specific infrastructure deal triggers a Nakamal consultation.

各地の論調 · 2

▸ Australian public broadcaster; morning bulletin leading with China's overnight reaction to the pact signed the previous afternoon

SBS News Australia · Australia · en · 2026年6月30日 00:30Z

SBS's June 30 morning bulletin reported China's MFA spokesperson Guo Jiakun warning that cooperation with Pacific Island nations should not target any third party, and that the agreement's infrastructure consultation clause, which requires Vanuatu to inform Canberra before signing deals with other countries, is the part Beijing finds most objectionable.

“China hopes that cooperation between relevant countries and Pacific Island countries will contribute to regional development and stability, not target any third party.”

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▸ Chinese state tabloid; provides Beijing's narrative framing this as Australian encirclement, not Pacific stability

Global Times · China · en · 2026年6月30日 01:00Z

The Global Times frames the Nakamal Agreement as Canberra weaponising development aid to extend AUKUS-era pressure into the South Pacific, arguing the infrastructure consultation clause effectively gives Australia a veto over Vanuatu-China deals. The piece quotes unnamed analysts calling the pact 'a new front in containment'.

“The deal is plainly designed to keep China out of Vanuatu's critical infrastructure under the guise of security cooperation.”

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