Australia spent a year and half a billion dollars trying to keep China out of Vanuatu, and just signed a deal that gives that up.

The whole point of the Nakamal Agreement was one clause. It would have made Vanuatu get Australian approval before letting anyone near its critical infrastructure, which everyone knew meant China.
Vanuatu refused to sign for months, called it an attack on their sovereignty, and sent Australia back to rewrite it. The version signed in Canberra has that clause stripped out.
And while Australia was stuck waiting, Vanuatu went and approved its own pact with China on the side and said it was friends to all and enemies to none.
So Australia still hand over the half billion, the protection they actually wanted is gone. China got its deal anyway.
Penny Wong will stand up and call it a partnership of equals, but Vanuatu played both sides and walked off with australias money and Beijing’s pact.
Good game