Australia’s bid to block China from gaining a security foothold in the Pacific through ports, airports and other sensitive critical infrastructure assets has been dealt a blow after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to scrap plans to sign a sweeping $500 million treaty-level agreement with Vanuatu.

Albanese hoped to kickstart a major fortnight of diplomacy in the Pacific by finalising a long-awaited deal with his counterpart during a visit to the capital of Port Vila on Tuesday, but resistance in Vanuatu meant the 10-year agreement had to be put back on ice at the last minute.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been welcomed to Vanuatu with a guard of honour. Credit: Michael Read

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat said the key sticking point was that the pact, known as

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