Penny Wong says Australia has ‘more work to do’ forging relationships in the Pacific

Foreign minister Penny Wong is in Fiji today amid a meeting with her counterparts from across the Pacific.

Wong said Australia has been working to rebuild trust and Australia’s reputation in the region, as well as its “strategic position in the Pacific”.

We’ve got work more work to do. We’ve announced that we do want to engage with and negotiate with both Tonga and Solomon Islands. Obviously, there’ll be a lot of work there that we want to do with them in partnership.

Wong also said she hopes China “takes note” of the region-wide opposition to a ballistic missile test Beijing undertook in July.

It was a test which was destabilising and in a region where leaders have said we want an ocean of peace. It’s really important that partners respect that, and we would continue to encourage that respect.