The "Pacific-Eyes" concept draws "inspiration" from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance between the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Photo: 123RF
An Australian think tank has proposed an intelligence-sharing agreement between Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands countries aimed at countering China's influence in the region.
The think tank claims the initiative will "build capacity, deepen trust, and lay the foundations for a resilient Pacific Islands security community".
The policy brief, published by the Lowy Institute on Wednesday and funded by the Australian government, outlines a proposal called the "Pacific-Eyes" concept. It draws "inspiration" from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
"The Pacific Islands face cascading difficulties arising from great power competition and a range of overlapping transnational governance, environmental, and technological challenges," the brief's author Mihai Sora said.
"The Pacific Islands have become an arena of intensifying geopolitical competition, with Beijing making unprecedented inroads. China's secretive 2022 security pact with Solomon Islands signalled a new phase, raising fears of a future Chinese military presence in Australia's immediate neighbourhood.
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"Since then, China has dispatched police advisers across the region, signed an action plan for a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Cook Islands, and increased the frequency of its naval and coastguard deployments in Pacific Island waters."
Sora notes that Pacific Islands also face mounting transnational threats, such as organised crime, illegal fishing, cyberattacks, political unrest, and climate-related disasters, that overwhelm national capacities.
"Some of these are seen as linked, at least indirectly, to China's actions. Left unaddressed, these vulnerabilities create strategic openings that external actors can exploit to embed influence within local institutions and infrastructure."
Sora said the Pacific Islands have become an arena of intensifying geopolitical competition, with Beijing making unprecedented inroads. Photo: AFP / Australian Defence Force
According to Sora, Australia has responded with closer bilateral engagement, alongside regional policing and humanitarian initiatives, but intelligence exchanges remain fragmented and piecemeal.
"The region lacks a mechanism that both fosters a shared strategic approach and provides timely warnings of transnational shocks and geopolitical surprises," he said.
"Without one, Pacific Island governments, and Australia as their principal security partner, risk being blindsided again by the next deal, deployment, or coercive move from Beijing."
According to AAP, Australia has been working to keep China out of the region by signing security deals with Pacific Island nations.
Sora recommends that Australia should lead the creation of a formal intelligence-sharing framework, which would initially involve Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and the four most closely aligned countries in the region.
"Conceptually akin to Five Eyes but adapted for Pacific Island realities, such an arrangement would move ad hoc bilateral exchanges into a structured, multi-country mechanism for systematic and continuous intelligence collaboration."
Sora said the Pacific-Eyes framework would strengthen capabilities by embedding intelligence training and operational security support in PNG and Fiji, backed by targeted investments in intelligence architecture.
Transparent governance and incremental sharing protocols would build trust, ensuring the arrangement is both credible and politically sustainable, he added.
He recommends "phased rollout" with high-priority areas before expanding into "politically sensitive domains...conditional on proven trust and operational success".
