Penny Wong says Vanuatu security deal will be made public unlike China-Solomons agreement

Foreign minister deeply proud' to announce bilateral pact after 40 years of cooperation between our security forces'

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The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has drawn a contrast with China's approach to the Pacific by promising that a new security deal she signed with Vanuatu on Tuesday would be released publicly.

Wong, who is leading a bipartisan Australian delegation to the region, also left the door open to pursuing similar deals with other Pacific countries amid growing competition with Beijing for influence in the region.

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