Foreign Minister Penny Wong's hasty departure to the Pacific islands a mere days after the Labor government was sworn in was meant to send a message to the region that Australia has its back.
But for Papua New Guinean Vicki Kinai, seeing Senator Wong "just dash like that" hasn't exactly instilled a sense of safety and comfort.
"I saw that Penny Wong went straight to the Pacific Islands – what does that really mean? To me that is frightening," Ms Kinai told the ABC.
"It can't be good and I think they left it too long."
Ms Kinai has lived in Australia for 16 years, but still has very close ties with PNG and her community back home.
She has been watching the news closely as Australia and China play a diplomatic tug-of-war in the Pacific with duelling visits across the region by both foreign ministers this week.
"Our people back in Papua New Guinea… don't know much about what's happening around the world, but being here and knowing more about what's happening, I'm really in fear," Ms Kinai said.
Attention on the region 'confusing'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's marathon tour of the Pacific landed him in PNG on Thursday – just as the country is in the middle of an election.
Ms Kinai is worried about the intentions of the visit and the influence China may have on politicians.
"People say that Papua New Guinea is corrupt and China knows this very well," she said.
Ms Kinai isn't the only member of Australia's Pacific islander community feeling unnerved by all the sudden attention on the region.
The diplomatic visits have been dominating headlines, but media access is heavily restricted and a lot of information is being fed through high-level statements and press conferences.
Many repeat claims from Beijing that its intentions in the region are based on "mutual respect".
"I think it's confusing. That's why I am scared. I don't know what's happening," Ms Kinai said.
'It's unpredictable'
Melbourne resident Nancy Fugui is also finding the situation daunting.
Ms Fugui is from Solomon Islands, where her government signed a controversial security pact with China in April.
She believes Solomon Island's closer relationship with China will inevitably lead to the country being exploited.
"China is a very big country and the Pacific Islands, most of us are small countries with small populations," she said.
"It's unpredictable what China has in mind. But lately, we believe that they want to get their hands on our resources and I don't think most of us are happy with that."
Ms Fugui wants Australia to have a stronger presence in the country, saying that prior to the pact with China the government had only engaged with the Solomons "bit by bit".
Beijing has said the deal would involve China cooperating with Honiara on maintaining social order, combating natural disasters and safeguarding national security.
"I don't know why our government brought in police from China. It's not good," Ms Fugui said.
"Our country is really vulnerable at this moment with security, with resources. We don't know what's going to happen in five years' time."
China painting a different picture
The Chinese Foreign Minister held a virtual meeting with a host of countries in Fiji on Monday with the aim to strike a sweeping trade and security agreement with 10 Pacific Island nations.
The proposal was shelved after a number of Pacific countries raised concerns about both the substance of the pact and China's approach.
However, Beijing remains confident in its ambitions in region.
It has signalled it will press ahead with negotiations after releasing a position paper that omitted several key components of the initial proposal.
Chinese state media has been heavily covering Mr Wang's visit, playing down the setback and accusing Australia of trying to "drive a wedge between China and regional countries".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also recently created an account on Weibo – China's largest social media site – called "Broad Pacific," which provides updates on Mr Wang's tour to the region.
None of the posts to the more than 17,000 followers have reported that China was unable to get the desired "Common Development Vision" regional agreement across the line.
"We look forward to a successful demonstration of cooperation between China and Fiji," one follower commented.
Another said: "Everything we do is for economic construction, nothing else."
Beijing resident Billy Wu said he wasn't paying much attention to Mr Wang's Pacific visit until discussions on social media became more heated in recent days.
"South Pacific Island countries, I believe, feel too far away for ordinary Chinese people," he told the ABC.
He has little knowledge of the region, but sees why there would be concern given that many Pacific Island countries have experienced colonialism.
"These island countries are now vulnerable to another type of economic colonisation. I think it's understandable that the locals are worried about it [China's influence]," he said.
Hopes Australia will 'stay at it'
Senator Wong headed back to the Pacific on Wednesday to meet with leaders in Samoa and Tonga "to renew and strengthen Australia's deep ties of friendship and family".
Tonya Toi, a Tongan Australian based in Melbourne, is glad there is finally focus on the region, saying it had been "totally neglected".
Ms Toi is the president and wellbeing officer at the Pasifika Community of Australia (PCA) – a non-for-profit organisation she founded with Ms Kinai in 2020 to support the community during COVID.
It is not a political organisation, but after seeing the growing influence of China across the Pacific they began raising the community's security concerns with the government.
"I've been here more than 30 years in Australia and we were feeling nervous," Ms Toi told the ABC.
One of Ms Toi's main concerns is the lack of transparency around aid and funding in Tonga, particularly after the volcanic eruption and tsunami earlier this year that devastated much of the country.
She also worries about China's intentions and the possibility of individual governments to be swayed by money.
"We know they [China] have other hidden agendas," Ms Toi said.
"Individual government leaders see the other side, but unfortunately they may be attracted to that."
She said although Australia had wasted time, she was confident that the government's current momentum would continue.
"I trust that this government will make a move as we have witnessed and stay at it."
