As Australia Sealed Its Security Deal With Vanuatu, the CCP Renewed Its Police Presence Locally

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R) and Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat pose with signed copies of the Nakamal Agreement during a signing ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on June 29, 2026. David Gray/AFP via Getty ImagesWhile Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was preparing to sit down with his Vanuatu counterpart, Jotham Napat, to negotiate the final parts of a new security deal, a squad of Chinese police were renewing their deployment in Port Vila.As part of the agreement signed on June 29 in Canberra, Vanuatu agreed not to allow any foreign military presence on its territory.Yet days earlier on June 24, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Embassy’s website announced a new rotation of “police experts” in Vanuatu during a formal ceremony attended by Ambassador Li Minggang, two embassy counsellors, and officials from Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security and the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department, which supplies the officers.The Ministry’s website mentions it has sent police to more than 40 countries, but does not disclose which ones. Police technically fall outside the definition of a military presence.The embassy’s statement said law enforcement cooperation between China and Vanuatu have “continuously deepened” in recent years, part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.It also stated that the Ministry had deployed a police team to Vanuatu, where it has spent the past three years promoting “in-depth and practical cooperation” in areas such as police equipment, capacity building, personnel training, and law enforcement exchanges.Meanwhile, Li reportedly told the new rotation of police officers that he hoped they would be “guided by Xi Jinping’s diplomatic thought” and fully implement the communist regime’s Global Security Initiative.The redeployment of the Chinese officers comes as it continues fostering ties with the CCP despite concerns from Australia.In September last year, Vanuatuan officials warned Australia to respect the country’s policing agreement with Beijing.Following a visit to Beijing in September 2025, Vanuatu Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat announced that the two countries would sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen Beijing’s police assistance programs, including a new tranche of equipment such as INTERPOL systems, motorcycles, drones, and other gear worth $635,000 (US$437,000).Then, in November 2025, the Vanuatu government announced that it would expel Australian and New Zealand foreign advisers and police officers from government buildings, citing the need to protect its own sovereignty.Australia has tried to counter CCP incursion into neighbouring countries by establishing and funding the Pacific Policing Initiative, and a hub at Pinkenba near Brisbane, which functions as a training centre for the PPI’s Pacific Police Support Group (PPSG).While the latest “Nakamal” agreement between Australia and Vanuatu secures a guarantee of no military presence on the Pacific nation, it still leaves the door open for other countries to invest and provide aid locally requiring only Australia be “consulted.”Australian authorities have previously signed off deals with Tuvalu, Nauru, or Papua New Guinea to effectively block off or “veto” any attempts by third parties, like the CCP, to be involved in local security matters.Meanwhile, conservative-leaning leader Pauline Hanson of Australia’s One Nation party—who is currently surging in the polls—has taken aim at arrangements like the one with Vanuatu where Pacific leaders receive aid from Australia while also taking aid from the CCP.