The Blue Pacific Has a Sphere-of-Influence Problem
Australia’s latest arrangement with Tuvalu furthers a trend that nobody wants to acknowledge
On the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia and Tuvalu just signed a new, major agreement—the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty.
It binds Australia and Tuvalu much closer together in ways that appear to be win-win. And nobody was (directly) coerced into signing it. But it’s not great, Bob!
The new treaty actually expands the Pacific’s …