Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands share more than an ocean.

They share geography, history, trade, family connections and a common interest in maintaining a peaceful and prosperous region.

As strategic competition intensifies across the Indo-Pacific, that shared interest has become increasingly important.

China has expanded its diplomatic, economic and security engagement throughout the Pacific over the past decade. Investment projects, infrastructure loans, government buildings, fisheries agreements and policing cooperation have become familiar features in countries including Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

For Pacific governments, these relationships provide opportunities for investment and economic development.

For Australia and New Zealand, they also reinforce an important reality.

Influence cannot be assumed.

It must be earned.

The Pacific has long been Australia's immediate neighbourhood. Natural disasters, economic development, education, seasonal labour programs and defence cooperation have tied the region together for generations.

Those relationships remain Australia's greatest strategic advantage.

The question is how they should evolve.

One answer lies in trade.

Pacific nations produce timber, seafood, agricultural products and minerals that can contribute to regional prosperity. Australia and New Zealand possess investment capital, advanced education systems, financial institutions and access to larger export markets.

Expanding regional commerce creates benefits that extend well beyond economics.

Businesses develop long-term relationships.

Students study together.

Tourism grows.

Skills are exchanged.

Communities become more closely connected.

Another opportunity lies in fisheries.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing remains a significant concern for many Pacific nations. Helping countries protect one of their most valuable natural resources supports both economic development and national sovereignty.

Infrastructure also matters.

Ports, roads, telecommunications and renewable energy projects are essential for growing island economies. The challenge for Australia is not simply financing projects, but delivering them efficiently, transparently and in partnership with local communities.

Above all, Pacific nations value respect.

They are independent countries making sovereign decisions in their own national interests. Lasting partnerships are built not through pressure, but through reliability, consistency and mutual benefit.

Australia and New Zealand have significant strengths in this regard.

Shared democratic institutions, longstanding educational links, humanitarian assistance, defence cooperation and deep people-to-people connections provide foundations that have been built over decades.

Strategic competition in the Pacific is likely to continue.

The question for Australasia is not whether other nations will engage with the region—they will.

The more important question is whether Australia and New Zealand continue to demonstrate that they remain the partners Pacific nations most want to work alongside.

Prosperity, security and stability are closely connected.

A Pacific region that is economically confident, politically stable and deeply connected through trade is in the interests of every nation that calls the region home.

That is not simply a foreign policy objective.

It is an Australasian one.