Australian troops will travel to Fiji next month for the first joint training exercises to be conducted at the newly expanded Blackrock military camp.
The federal government has plunged about $100 million into expanding and redeveloping the facility, which is emerging as a key strategic asset in the Pacific.
The new camp was formally opened on Monday by Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Australia's Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja.
Australia outbid China to secure the right to finance the project back in 2018, when strategic competition in the region was beginning to intensify.
While Blackrock will primarily be used for training the Fijian military, both countries have flagged that other Pacific Island nations will also be invited to conduct training exercises at the facility.
It will also be used as a base for humanitarian and disaster relief missions, which means military personnel from Australia and New Zealand — as well as other Pacific nations — are likely to use the facility as a hub when responding to natural disasters.
The first joint training exercise will be held next month, with Australian personnel heading to Blackrock to undertake a United Nations peacekeeping course – focused on the protection of civilians in conflict — with their Fijian counterparts.
The course is a pilot and could be expanded to take in other Pacific Island nations in the future.
Fijian officials and politicians have made it clear that another key focus will be responding to natural disasters – including cyclones and storms – which are rapidly intensifying due to climate change.
Frank Bainimarama said that Blackrock would serve as the "regional launching pad for joint deployments that put Fijian and Australian troops at the front line of the climate war raging throughout the Pacific".
Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja told the ABC that Fiji's government would make the final decisions about how the camp would operate but there was "great potential" to expand its use.
"From my discussions with the Fijian government, they are very keen to use this as a facility that does see military personnel from other countries in the region, including Australia but also others, come and have the opportunity to train, but also have the opportunity to potentially deploy," Senator Seselja said.
Australian government ministers have repeatedly denied that they've funded Blackrock purely to block China from gaining a potential military foothold in the region.
But Australian officials and politicians have also repeatedly made it clear that they want to ensure Australia remains the "first choice" for the Pacific when it comes to security cooperation.
Australian government officials also argue that the deteriorating global strategic environment – including the convergence between Russia and China, and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine – highlight the importance of the project.
Senator Seselja said Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought into "stark relief" the "importance of strong partnerships" in the Pacific.
"While we don't draw direct parallels between what's happening in Ukraine with what's happening in the region, we know that uncertainty is growing," he said.
