Australian Premier Plans Fiji, Vanuatu Visit to Offset China Influence

Australian Premier Plans Fiji, Vanuatu Visit to Offset China Influence
Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison arrives for APEC CEO Summit 2018 at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on Nov., 17, 2018. Fazry Ismail/Pool via Reuters
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MELBOURNE, Australia—Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Jan. 14 he will visit Fiji and Vanuatu this week as part of a push to offset China’s growing influence in the South Pacific.

Morrison heads to Vanuatu on Wednesday, in the first visit by an Australian prime minister to the Pacific island nation in three decades. He then will go to Fiji, returning on Friday, a spokesman said.