The historic agreement between Australia and Tuvalu, which will provide residents of the Pacific island with a climate refuge in the event of a climate threat to their country, has been tabled in Australia's parliament, France Press reported. Thus, the work on implementing the contract has overcome another stage, BTA reported.
The agreement provides for Tuvalu's 11,000 residents to be granted the right to live in Australia if their country disappears due to sea level rise. The treaty also commits Australia to protect Tuvalu in the event of natural disasters, pandemics or military aggression, but only if Tuvalu so requests.
The agreement was originally signed in November, but Australia had to wait for confirmation from Tuvalu's new prime minister that he accepted the deal. New Prime Minister Feleti Teo took office in February and immediately declared that he had no intention of denouncing the treaty. But he still expressed concern about a clause in it giving Canberra the right to have a say on future security pacts Tuvalu might enter into with other countries. The clause was seen as a significant strategic victory for Australia, which is resisting China's attempts to expand its security influence in the Pacific. According to the Government of Tuvalu, this provision is not sufficiently transparent and may threaten the sovereignty of Tuvalu.
There will now be internal consultations in Tuvalu on the treaty with a view to its rapid ratification. Australia's Minister for Pacific Affairs Pat Conroy described the agreement as aimed at safeguarding the future of this country. Two of Tuvalu's nine coral reefs have already been swallowed by the ocean, and it's only a matter of time - less than a century - before the entire island nation becomes uninhabitable, experts say.