Office of the Pacific (OTP)

A stable, prosperous, peaceful and resilient PNG is critical to Australia's interests. We are PNG's largest development partner and its main partner on economic and security issues.

The Torres Strait Treaty sets the boundary between Australia and PNG and established the Torres Strait Protected Zone to protect the traditional way of life of Torres Strait Islanders and the coastal people of PNG who live adjacent to the Torres Strait. The Protected Zone also protects the land and sea environment of the Torres Strait.

Australia and Vanuatu have a strong and enduring bilateral relationship, based on shared values and interests in a prosperous and stable region.

Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is located midway between Hawaii and Australia in the South Pacific Ocean. It comprises nine islands (four reef islands and five coral atolls).

The Kingdom of Tonga is a Polynesian country that lies to the south of Samoa, southeast of Fiji and north east of New Zealand. The Tongan archipelago is comprised of 176 islands, 36 of which are inhabited by a population of approximately 106,000.

Solomon Islands is an archipelagic state situated in the south-west Pacific Ocean, approximately 2,000 kms to the northeast of Australia.

Samoa is a Polynesian country northeast of Fiji. Samoa consists of four inhabited and a number of smaller, uninhabited islands.

The Republic of Palau consists of a tightly clustered archipelago of approximately 300 (Source: Palau Visitors Authority) islands with a total land area of 458 square kilometres, 1,500 kilometres to the east of the Philippines. The country's resident population of approximately 18,000 people live on nine of the islands.

The island of Niue is located in Polynesia, east of Tonga and northeast of New Zealand.