Tuvalu residency and security treaty: what is it and why is Australia doing it?

Australia and the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu have announced a treaty with two significant elements: Australia is offering permanent residency to people affected by the climate crisis, and is also making a security guarantee that will bind both countries closely together.

Let’s break down what it means.

What did the leaders announce?

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his counterpart, Kausea Natano, addressed reporters on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands on Friday.

They said they would upgrade the relationship between the two countries, calling it “the Falepili Union” – based on a Tuvaluan word for the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect.

The prime ministers also signed a new bilateral treaty to “give effect to our closer relationship”, particularly on climate and security.

What is the new residency offer?

The treaty includes commitments on “human mobility with dignity”. Australia is promising to “arrange for a special human mobility pathway for citizens of Tuvalu” to live, study and work in Australia.

They would also be able to access Australian education, health, and key income and family support on arrival. The number is not set out in the treaty itself, but the government says up to 280 Tuvaluan citizens each year would gain access to this special pathway.

The new pathway will sit under the existing Pacific engagement visa, meaning that they will gain access to permanent residency. They could apply for Australian citizenship down the track.

Why is Australia offering this?

The Australian government is sensitive to criticism from the Pacific that it should be embracing stronger climate action. The government is likely to want to offset such criticism so as to keep deepening ties with Pacific counterparts – but it also sees Tuvalu as a special case.

Tuvalu is a nation of nine low-lying islands in the central Pacific, about halfway between Australia and Hawaii, with a population of about 11,200. With the country’s highest point just 4.5 metres (15ft) above sea level, it is especially vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Australia’s minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, visited Tuvalu in August and Natano provided him with a submission to pass to Albanese outlining the proposal. Negotiations then proceeded quickly, culminating in Friday’s announcement.

Two days ago, Natano explained his position to Albanese: “It’s my duty as the leader of a country that is going to be under the water if that’s the way this continues, to make sure that my people have confidence that they can continue to stay if they want or move to another new home.”

The new treaty acknowledges “the special and unique circumstances faced by Tuvalu and that climate change is Tuvalu’s greatest national security concern”. It also mentions “the desire of Tuvalu’s people to continue to live in their territory where possible and Tuvalu’s deep, ancestral connections to land and sea”.

Are there any other climate commitments?

Yes, Australia is also promising to work with Tuvalu “in the face of the existential threat posed by climate change”.

That can include helping the country to adapt to a changing climate. Such projects can include increasing the disaster-resilience of coastal areas and improving warning systems. The Australian government is promising to promote Tuvalu’s requests in regional and international forums, such as the UN.

Australia is pledging further cooperation on the Tuvalu coastal adaptation project, which would reclaim land in the nation’s capital Funafuti, in hopes of expanding the area’s land mass by 6% – a bid to create more space for housing and other essential services, and “enabling people to remain living in Tuvalu in the face of sea level rise”.

But there is nothing specific in the document about curbing Australian coal and gas developments – something that many in Pacific island countries would like action on.

What about the new security guarantee?

Article 4 of the new treaty talks about “cooperation for security and stability” – but the bland title underplays the significance of this part of the deal.

It states that Australia will act on requests from its partner to respond to major natural disasters, pandemics or “military aggression against Tuvalu” (although there is the caveat that this action is subject to things like “domestic processes” and “capacity”).

In return for this security guarantee, Tuvalu will be required to “mutually agree with Australia” if it wants to strike a deal with any other country on security and defence-related matters.

These topics are defined broadly to include “defence, policing, border protection, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, including ports, telecommunications and energy infrastructure” – all of which are of interest to China.

Australia’s military could be granted access and have a presence within Tuvalu if such activities are deemed necessary to provide assistance, but only in response to a request from the Pacific country.

Why is this part of the treaty so significant?

It amounts to an Australian veto on Tuvalu entering into security agreements with others, and it is at a time when there is intense competition for influence in the Pacific.

Tuvalu currently is one of the few countries in the Pacific that maintain a diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, rather than China, although several nations such as Solomon Islands have switched allegiances to Beijing in recent years.

China last year struck a security agreement with Solomon Islands and is now providing police with training and equipment – all of which were of concern to the Australian defence establishment.

The Tuvalu deal probably wouldn’t require agreement on a topic of foreign affairs such as diplomatic relations, but things that can flow from that like security deals would be covered.

Speaking on Friday, Albanese said the new treaty would cement Australia’s status as Tuvalu’s “security partner of choice”.