Australia will continue to alienate countries in the Pacific if it does not increase action against climate change, the federal opposition leader says.
A leaked draft security deal between the Solomon Islands and China showed Chinese ships would be based in the Pacific, as well as have a navy base less than 2000 kilometres off Australia's coast.
The deal has triggered alarm bells about the potential militarisation of the Pacific.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia has been re-doubling its engagement with the region and is providing major infrastructure support.
But Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the Australian relationship with the Pacific is about much more than security.
Action on climate change is the number one issue Pacific nations want support with, Mr Albanese says.
"Whilst Australia sits in the naughty corner at international conferences such as Glasgow - with a prime minister giving an empty speech to an empty room with no increase in (emissions cut) ambition for 2030 - we continue to alienate our friends in the Pacific," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is expected to make a public statement on the security treaty with China on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the prime minister says Australia has long been aware of risks across Pacific nations, including concerns over Chinese influence.
Scott Morrison will meet with his Fijian and Papua New Guinean counterparts following reports Australia was warned about the security pact between the Solomon Islands and China.
Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale told The Australian he raised the alarm with Australia's high commissioner last year about the discussions taking place, and that any pact could lead to a possible Chinese base in the country.
But Mr Morrison says the risks posed by China in the region come as no surprise.
"This is an issue of concern for the region but ... we have been long aware of these pressures," he said.
"We were the first country that Solomon Islands called to go and provide help to them to stabilise and give security to their country."
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the possibility Chinese forces would be stationed in the Solomon Islands is "gravely concerning".
"We see such acts as the potential militarisation of the region," she told Radio NZ.
"We see very little reason in terms of the Pacific security for such a need and such a presence."
Ms Ardern urged Solomon Islands leaders "not to look beyond our own Pacific family" when considering its security relationships, as she moves to keep in lockstep with Australia on the matter.
Mr Morrison met with Ms Ardern over the weekend and lauded Australia as "the most significant provider of development aid and support throughout the Pacific".
