How Pacific nations walk a tightrope between Western security and Chinese trade

As Australia expands defence pacts in the region, Beijing courts local communities with ‘small and beautiful’ aid 6 -MIN READ6 -MIN Listen Published: 6:00am, 23 Aug 2026Updated: 6:19am, 23 Aug 2026 On paper, Western countries are rushing to sign defence pacts in the South Pacific, ensuring their influence in a region long neglected as a geopolitical backwater. But on the water, the island nations are playing a very different game. Instead of taking sides, local leaders are leveraging the geopolitical tug of war between China and the West, winning security guarantees from the latter while Beijing builds infrastructure and deepens…