Australia is “increasingly alone” in countering Beijing’s influence in the Pacific and remains the largest foreign aid donor to the region as the US and other western partners cut funding, a new report shows.

The 2025 Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map, released late on Sunday, tracks official development finance (ODF) from 2008 to 2023. It finds ODF to the Pacific fell by 16% in 2023 to US$3.6bn, marking a second consecutive year of record decline in development support.

Australia makes up 43% of official development finance in the region, four times more than New Zealand in second.

“Australia’s steady aid spending and rapid expansion in infrastructure lending looks set to cushion the Pacific from the impact of major donor cuts,” said lead author Riley Duke. Vanuatu open to signing deal

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